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TRAVELS OF OUR SAVIOUR. 






TRAVELS 



OUR SAVIOUR, 



"WITH SOME OF THE 



LEADING INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE. 



W 



BY WILLIAM A. ^LCOTT. 



V f 7 



Written for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
revised by the Committee of Publication 



/ 

v" 

BOSTON : 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository No. 13 Cornhill. 

1840. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, 

By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



a 1 1 1 



PREFACE. 



The writer of the following pages is not wholly 
ignorant of the difficulty — not to say danger — con- 
nected with the preparation of a volume which 
brings into view, in any way, the character of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Even with the aid 
of the best harmonies, it is not easy always to be 
certain in regard to the true order of many incidents 
and events; although, so far as this order is of 
acknowledged importance, it is a case in which 
error should be particularly avoided. The writer 
hopes, however, that he has not, either in this 
respect or in any other, fallen into any material 
error. He hopes that the work will be of great 
service to the young, not only as a harmony of the 
gospels, but as a kind of introduction to the character 
of our Saviour. He hopes and trusts that while they 
1# 



VI PREFACE. 

thus behold his glory, they may, through the influ- 
ence of his Spirit j be transformed into the same 
image, from glory to glory. 

It is, indeed, in this latter particular that he 
Considers this work chiefly valuable. If it fail to be 
serviceable here, then will it come greatly short of 
its chief end, and the author's main intention. He 
has written it, in one word, to lead the youthful 
mind and heart, not only to the knowledge, but also 
to the love of the Holy Scriptures, and of the char- 
acter of their divine Author. 

Perhaps it may not be amiss to anticipate, in this 
place, what is said in the introductory chapter, that 
the present volume does not make the high claim of 
being a complete life of the Saviour. As might be 
inferred from the title itself, it embraces only the 
principal incidents of his life. A complete list of 
these, in detail, is believed to be unnecessary, in the 
present work; first, because it would be likely to 
disturb too much the order of the narrative, and 
secondly, because many other writers have performed 
the service of presenting them already. In short, 
the great and leading object is to introduce our 



PREFACE. Vll 

Saviour to the youthful reader, as a man, — as a 
traveler through the world, — living, speaking and 
acting like other men; only that in all things he 
was without sin, while of others there is not a just 
man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. 

Children too often read the sacred writings, — - 
and the life of our Saviour among the other portions of 
them, — as they are accustomed to read fiction or ro- 
mance. Thousands seem not to realize that the Sa- 
viour was a man, and had the feelings, and temptations, 
and trials of men ; that he walked, ate, drank, and slept 
like other men ; in a word, that, in addition to his 
divine nature, he had a complete human nature, 
being in all respects as we are, except that he was 
without sin. To render solid, substantial and real 
what appears to them more or less dreamy or unreal ; 
to enlist more fully their sympathies with him who 
lived as well as died for them ; to form their charac- 
ters on the model of his, and thus to aid, ultimately, 
in their conversion and sanctification, are, be it 
repeated, the leading objects of the work. With 
this view, after repeated solicitations from many 
friends of the religious education of the young, the 
author undertook to prepare the work; and with 



Vlll PREFACE. 

this he now presents it to the public, in the earnest 
hope and prayer that it may prove a means of 
leading the rising generation to " glorify God " our 
Saviour " in their bodies and spirits, which are his." 

Dedham, January, 1840. 



TRAVELS OF OUR SAVIOUR. 



INTRODUCTION. 

All mankind are travelers, my young 
friends — you and I among the rest. All are 
traveling towards death, towards the judg- 
ment, towards eternity. From the cradle to 
the grave there is no resting-place whatever. 
The journey of life may be said to be going 
on even while we sleep. Every hour, yes, 
every moment, our march is onward; for 
every hour and every moment bring us near- 
er to the end of our course. It is true we 
seem to pursue many different roads; some 
broader, others more narrow; some thorny, 
others more pleasant; some longer, others 
shorter. Nevertheless they all end at the 
valley of the shadow of death, and all travel- 
ers must cross that dark valley. 



10 TRAVELS OF 

Beyond this valley, how numerous soever 
have been the roads by which we have trav- 
eled through the world, there are but two 
places of abode — two countries prepared for 
our reception. However varied our tastes, 
whatever may be our likes or our dislikes, 
however diversified may seem to be the shades 
of character we possess, we shall be found to 
form (as we always have done in reality in all 
our journeyings this side of it) but two classes 
of persons — the one loving good or holiness, 
the other loving evil or sin; the one the fol- 
lowers of God our Saviur, the other the fol- 
lowers of the cc devices and desires " of our 
own hearts, and of Satan the grand adversa- 
ry; the one the inhabitants of heaven, a city 
which hath foundations, a glorious city, whose 
builder and maker is God, the other the in- 
habitants of hell, the pit which is bottomless, 
the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone 
whence the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
up for ever and ever. 

I have said that one of these classes of hu- 
man travelers — the lovers of holiness — are 
the followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Yes, my dear young friends, our Sa- 
viour, like you and me was once a traveler. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 11 

Though he had a home, a mansion in the heav- 
ens, — though he was the Father's only begot- 
ten son and was tenderly beloved by the Father, 
yet did he consent to journey throughthis world 
— this wilderness world, as some call it — that 
he might set a glorious example, as well as 
accomplish for us and others still higher and 
nobler objects. Thirty and three years, or 
not far from this period, did he continue his 
toilsome pilgrimage, and that too over a road 
more difficult than falls to the lot of any of his 
most careful and studious followers, ere he 
came to the end of his journey; and then that 
end was by treachery and violence ; a violence 
almost unparalleled in the history of man; a 
violence which should and probably does make 
us all shudder; accompanied as it was by the 
hiding of his Father's face, which was more 
to be endured than all besides. 

You have read the Saviour's travels, as I 
trust, in the New Testament. I propose to 
you, as truth, nothing which cannot be found 
there. I have, however, supposed it might be 
useful to persons of your age to become ac- 
quainted with those travels, by themselves, as 
travels; and in their natural order. I have 
not attempted to give a complete account of 



12 TRAVELS OF 

every thing which was acted and transacted 
during the various and numerous journeyings 
of our Saviour, but only of such things and 
events as were intimately connected with these 
journeyings and as are most striking. To get 
a complete history of his life you must study, 
for yourselves, the book 1 have mentioned — 
the New Testament — together with those parts 
of the Old Testament which throw light on 
the same subject, especially the fifty-third 
chapter of Isaiah. 

You may also find it useful, in some measure, 
to study a few of the books which uninspired 
men have written about him. There are sev- 
eral volumes, larger and smaller, called Cf the 
Life of Christ," which are very good. But, I 
repeat it, the best Life of Christ as a whole — 
by far the best — is to be found in the New 
Testament, to which I must refer you, not 
only for an account of his life, in general, but 
even of his travels. 

If the perusal of this little volume shall not 
have the effect to make you love that great 
source of information — the Bible — better than 
before; if it shall not lead you to study the 
character and life of Jesus Christ with deeper 
interest, and to endeavor to walk as he 



OUR SAVIOUR. 13 

walked; thinking, speaking, acting and living 
as he did, more than ever before, then will it 
fail of its great object, and the writer will 
have labored in vain. 

But he hopes better things of you, and 
" things which accompany salvation," as an 
apostle would say, though he thus speaks. 
After you have perused carefully these chap- 
ters, he hopes that the various chapters of 
the Bible — and especially those of the Gos- 
pels of our Lord and Saviour — will become, 
more than they ever were before, a light to 
your feet, and a lamp to your paths, to guide 
you on through this wilderness world, till you 
reach the heavenly Canaan, the new Jerusa- 
lem, the city of our God; till you sit down 
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yes, and with 
the Saviour himself, in the kingdom of eternal 
bliss, to go no more out, for ever and for ever. 



14 TRAVELS OF 



CHAPTER I. 

The Saviour born a traveler — Is first known at Bethlehem — 
Journey to Egypt — Return to Palestine — Journey to Nazareth 
— He resides there. 

The Saviour of mankind was, as it were, 
born a traveler. Leaving the bosom of that 
Father with whom he had resided before the 
world was, and descending to this lower 
world, the first intelligence we have of him is 
his birth at Bethlehem. But he was born a 
traveler in another respect. Joseph and Ma- 
ry, his earthly parents, were on a journey at 
the very time of his birth. Their usual resi- 
dence was at Nazareth, about eighty miles 
northward of the city of Bethlehem; but hav- 
ing occasion to go to Bethlehem, at this time, 
the Saviour was born while they were sojourn- 
ing there. So that in two respects at least, 
was he born a traveler; away from his native 
home. 

But he was not only born a traveler, he 
continued such. Though descended from ob- 
scure parents, cradled in a manger because 
the inns at Bethlehem were all occupied, and 



OUR SAVIOUR. 15 

scarcely known to any individual but his own 
parents, a most singular and remarkable life 
was before him. There was a tradition and 
belief abroad at this time, among his country- 
men, the Jews, that a personage was then 
about to appear among them, who should be- 
come their king. 

It is true they had a king already, but they 
did not like him very well. Moreover they 
were tributary to, that is, under the Romans; 
and their new king, it was expected, would 
set them free. 

After Jesus was born, it was soon noised 
about among his countrymen, the Jews, that 
he was to be the new king. The intelligence 
of course, reached Herod, the reigning mon- 
arch, and gave him great offence. He could 
not bear the idea of a rival. 

What then should he do? He was a cruel 
prince, and did not hesitate to do almost any 
thing that would be likely to accomplish his 
purposes. He did not care so much what 
was just and good and right, as he did to se- 
cure his own selfish aims and purposes. His 
mind was soon made up. The young king, 
the child Jesus, must be slain. 

I have said of Herod that he did not long 



16 TRAVELS OF 

hesitate to do whatever he thought would be 
likely to effect his purpose. He who could 
entertain murder in his heart, would not be 
likely to regard truth in his statements. He 
lived in Jerusalem. Bethlehem, where the 
infant Saviour was born, was five or six miles 
south of Jerusalem. Herod, therefore, under 
pretence of friendship — yes, and piety too — 
requested certain wise men, or Magi, who 
were going to Bethlehem, to find out in what 
part of the city Jesus was, and bring him 
word that he might go and worship him. 
Wretched old king! Was it not enough that 
thou shouldst harbor murder in thine heart, 
without attempting to cover it with the mantle 
of piety ? 

But the messengers did not bring him the 
word he desired. That God who watches 
over the sleeping infant, as well as the wak- 
ing adult, and whose own eye never needs 
either sleep or slumber, would not fail to take 
care of his well-beloved Son. He made 
known to the messengers his will that they 
should not return to Jerusalem to give infor- 
mation to Herod; and like good and true men 
they ventured to obey the King of heaven 
rather than the king at Jerusalem. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 17 

In the mean time, however, another thing 
was to be done. Herod's jealousy and cruel- 
ty were not at all abated by the neglect of the 
wise men to return to him; and there was no 
certainty that he would let the matter rest 
where it was. It was necessary therefore that 
the child Jesus should be removed beyond the 
reach of his cruelty. 

Accordingly a command from Heaven came 
to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, to go 
away with him and his mother, immediately, 
to Egypt, and remain there till the danger 
was over, or at least till permission was grant- 
ed them to return. 

The reasons, moreover, were given, why his 
flight was necessary. God deals with his 
children somewhat as wise earthly parents do 
with theirs; sometimes giving the reasons for 
what he does and sometimes not doing it. 
Happy is the individual, however, who promptly 
and immediately obeys the commands of a pa- 
rent, whether an earthly or an heavenly one, 
whether any reasons for them are assigned 
or not. 

The parents of Jesus did not hesitate. 
First, they wished to obey God. Second- 
ly, they loved their children tenderly. 
2* 



18 TRAVEL SOF 

They would be especially careful and 
tender of so young a child as Jesus. They 
would no doubt submit, on his account, to al- 
most any privation. Thirdly, they seem to 
have had some notions, confused ones though 
they were, of his future greatness. They 
probably thought he would, at least, become 
a distinguished prophet. 

Egypt, as perhaps you know, lay southwest- 
ward of Palestine, on the borders of Africa. 
In those early times the journey from Bethle- 
hem to Egypt was rather formidable. The 
roads through the country were very far from 
being as good as our roads are, nor were they 
so easily followed. Indeed it can hardly be 
said, in strictness of language, that there were 
any roads at all from Palestine to Egypt ; the 
country being a sandy desert, in which good 
roads cannot be built, at least without a very 
great deal of trouble and expense. 

Moreover, if Joseph and Mary and the in- 
fant Saviour commenced their journey in the 
month of February, as seems to me most 
likely (though by no means certain), neither 
the weather nor the traveling was favorable. 
True, the severest part of the winter was 
over; but there were still occasional snows, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 19 

and frequent rains, as well as sudden changes 
from heat to cold. Whether they walked or 
rode, it must, therefore, have been very bad 
traveling. The aspect of the country at this 
season, was, moreover, in all probability rath- 
er dreary; though the eye of the traveler in 
Palestine is usually relieved in the latter part 
of February — and perhaps this was the sea- 
son in which the journey was made — by the 
sight of peach blossoms, and occasionally by 
the blossoms of the apple-tree. 

The distance from Bethlehem to Egypt was 
also considerable. We do not indeed know 
to what part of Egypt they retired; but we 
may reasonably suppose they made a journey 
of something like 150 or 200 miles; which, 
under the circumstances of which I have 
been speaking, was no trifling journey, even 
for those who were better able than Joseph 
and Mary to bear the expense of it. 

How long they staid in Egypt, is not said. 
Some suppose it was a few months only; oth- 
ers think it was six or seven years. To me 
it seems most likely it was, only a few 
months, or at most a year.* He remained 

* There is a class of men in our country, as you know, who dis- 
believe or profess to disbelieve the Bible, and are hence called in- 



20 TRAVELS OF 

there in any event until the death of Herod, 
the cruel king at Jerusalem of whom I have 
already spoken; which came to pass soon 
afterwards. Not, however, till this same Her- 
od had issued a most severe and wicked de- 
cree and seen it executed. For so it was, 
that on finding the wise men by whom he sent 
to find out about Jesus did not return to tell 
him where the young Jesus was, and that his 
hypocritical purpose was likely to be discov- 
ered, he determined on destroying his sup- 
posed young rival; and not knowing his age, 
exactly now, he sent forth executioners and 
caused all the children in the neighborhood 
of Bethlehem under their second year* to be 

fidels. These men, it is true, generally profess to think well of 
the character of Christ. One of them, however, in conversation 
with a Sabbath school teacher, told him that Christ was a kind 
of magician, and that he learned his magical arts in Egypt where, 
as he said, he was brought up. It was sufficient to confute this, 
for the young teacher to turn to Luke, fourth chapter, where it 
says ; And he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up,&cc. 
The infidel was silent, concluding no doubt that he could not 
have been brought up in two countries at once. 

* I have said under their second year, because it was the custom 
of the Jews in speaking of the age of a person to include the year 
on which he had entered. Thus Jesus was baptized when he 
began to be about 30 years of age, that is, as soon as he was 29, 
and a little over. A person 20 years old and only one day over 
would be reckoned 21 years old. So when the Bible says Herod 
slew all the children in the neighborhood of Bethlehem , '* from 



OUR SAVIOUR. 21 

put to death. Had not Jesus been preserved, 
by being ordered by the heavenly mandate 
into Egypt, he too must, to human view, have 
shared the same fate with the rest. 

But kings do not live always, any more than 
other men, especially wicked. According to 
the Bible, the wicked, whether high or low, 
" do not live out half their days." Herod 
though not yet an old man, was unexpectedly 
to himself called away to meet his final judge 
and wait his award, whether prepared or un- 
prepared to receive it. 

When Herod was dead, a voice from heav- 
en communicated the intelligence to our so- 
journers in Egypt, and directed them to return 
into Palestine, or, as it was then called, the 
land of Israel. Glad, no doubt, to obey the 
summons, and supposing, as it would seem, 
that since the child was born in Bethlehem, 
he ought to be educated there, they bent their 
course thither. 

two years old and under," I suppose it means all who had en- 
tered at all upon their second year. It does not make him the 
less cruel perhaps to prove, if we could do it, that what I have 
supposed here was really the fact ; for he was cruel enough in 
any case ; but we should be willing and glad to do every body 
justice, even king Herod. Moreover, we should be glad to under- 
stand every thing just as it ought to be understood, especially 
the Bible. 



22 TRAVELS OF 

Herod, however, had been succeeded in 
the government by his son Archelaus, who 
proved to be almost as cruel as the father, 
for no sooner had he obtained the consent of 
the Romans to reign over that part of the 
country where his father had lived, than, ac- 
cording to the best historians, he massacred 
3,000 Jews in the temple on a single day. 

How Joseph obtained a knowledge of his 
cruelty, we know not, or whether he knew 
it, in fact, at all, is uncertain. In any event, 
he judged that the son of Herod could hardly 
be a good man, and that he would almost in- 
evitably carry out all the purposes of his fath- 
er.* Accordingly he did not return to Beth- 
lehem, nor into that part of the country where 
Bethlehem and Jerusalem are situated, but 
passed on northward into Galilee ; and final- 
ly concluded to return once more to his 
former residence at Nazareth. 

* One of the more striking marks of difference between good 
and bad men consists in the disposition of which I am here 
speaking. Good men — kings as well as others — are ready to 
forgive ; bad men are apt to revenge. Savages you know, seek 
revenge, even down to many generations after the existence of 
the generation which injured them ; that is, they will be as apt 
to kill the grandson for the deeds of the grandfather as to kill the 
grandfather himself. How dreadful such revenge! And how 
thankful ought we to be for a religion which, like that of Christ, 
encourages forgiveness even in death. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 23 

This was quite a long journey; nearly a 
hundred miles longer than the former. At 
what season it was performed, or under what 
particular circumstances, we have now no 
means of ascertaining. If the infant Jesus 
was not a year old, the scenery, humanly 
speaking, was nothing to him; but if he was 
several years old, he was prepared to take no 
little interest in beholding the places and ob- 
jects which were passed. Much of the route 
must have been rather uninteresting to the 
traveler, except that a soil highly cultivated 
almost every where, especially after they got 
fairly out of Egypt, would be always likely to 
afford delight to persons brought up, as Jo- 
seph and Mary probably had been in the 
country. 

Of the travels of Jesus any farther till he 
was twelve years of age, we know very little. 
He appears to have staid at home with his 
parents; and it is generally supposed that he 
worked with his father, at the carpenter's 
work. His father, like other pious Jews, is 
believed to have gone, once or more every 
year, to Jerusalem, at feast times, but wheth- 
er Jesus, in his earliest years, ever went with 
him, is more doubtful. To me, from the 



24 TRAVELS OF 

Scripture account of him, it appears highly 
probable he did not. 

The most we know of Jesus with certainty, 
during this period is, that he lived with his 
parents and was obedient to them; and that 
he attended every Sabbath, the religious wor- 
ship of the synagogue. Synagogues in those 
days were very numerous, in all cities where 
there were Jews. Hardly a town or village, 
even of those which were small as Nazareth, 
that had not at least one of them; and some 
had many. Jerusalem alone, not far from 
this time, is said by some historians to have 
had no less than 480 of them; but whether 
this statement is or is not wholly true, the 
number was certainly very great. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Feasts at Jerusalem — Feast of the Passover — Journey thith- 
er—What was to be seen on the road— His adventure in the tem- 
ple — His conduct there — Return to Nazareth with his parents. 

I have already said that I suppose our Sa- 
viour's first journey to Jerusalem was not 
performed until he was twelve years of age. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 25 

Some suppose otherwise, however. Certain 
it is that at this time he made a journey thith- 
er, in company with his parents. 

The law of God required all the male Isra- 
elites, after they were twelve years of age, to 
appear three times a year in the temple in 
Jerusalem; to be present at the Feast of Pen- 
tecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the 
Feast of the Passover. Joseph and Mary felt 
especially bound to attend the latter feast, and 
though the distance was about 75 or 80 miles, 
and they were poor, and probably walked, it 
does not appear that they ever failed of attend- 
ing to this part of their duty. 

The Feast of the Passover was kept in the 
fifteenth day of the month Nisan, which, as I 
understand it, would be the 26th of our 
March. * It lasted eight days, and was de- 
signed, as you probably know, to keep in re- 
membrance the great mercy of God, in pass- 
ing over the Israelites in Egypt, and leaving 
them unharmed, while the first-born of the 
Egyptians were all destroyed; of which you 
will, of course, find a full account in the book 
of Exodus. 

* Some, however, incline to think it must have been the 2d of 
April. 

3 



26 



TRAVELS OF 



The journey to Jerusalem must have been 
rather pleasant than otherwise. If it was the 
first time the Saviour went far from home after 
he was old enough to observe men and things 
and make his own reflections upon them, it 
must have been to him a most delightful ex- 
cursion. The almond, apricot, and peach 
trees had blossomed some time before, but the 
pear, the fig and the palm trees, — and the 
apple trees where there were any — were now 
in full bloom. The trees of the fields and of 
the forests were covered with their rich foli- 
age. Beans and peas were ripe enough for 
gathering. In the garden might be seen 
flourishing the artichoke, rosemary, fennel, 
sage, thyme, &c. The latter rains, however, 
were occasionally falling, and the ground, in 
consequence, was muddy, though the rains 
usually ceased about the end of the Passover, 
so that the walking homeward was much bet- 
ter. When the rain is not falling, at this 
season, the weather in Palestine is usually 
warm and sometimes hoc, attended with thun- 
der storms and hail; and there are occasion- 
al tornadoes and earthquakes at this season, 
also strong floods. Still, as I have already 
said, these last being rare, journeying, at this 
season, is usually pleasant. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 27 

I must speak of our Saviour, in these his 
travels, as 1 would of any other traveler, for 
he was human as well as divine; and at this 
early age, and indeed at every age, he must 
be supposed to have had human thoughts and 
feelings and passions (bad ones excepted), and 
among the rest, human curiosity. I cannot 
doubt that as a young man he delighted to 
see objects on the road, as he and his 
parents passed along to Jerusalem. I have 
made this apology for once, that in speaking 
of the Saviour as a traveler, I may not seem 
to my young readers to be irreverent; and I 
hope this remark may be continually borne in 
mind. 

As there were no canals or steamboats or 
railroads in those days nor any stage coaches, 
travelers on the road from Nazareth to Jeru- 
salem, as elsewhere, were compelled to pro- 
ceed slowly. If they rode on horseback, they 
must have been at least two days in perform- 
ing the journey; but if they traveled on foot, 
which is more probable, they might be on the 
road three days or more. 

What then would they see, new and curious, 
on the road? What mountains, rivers, lakes, 
cities, villages; and what natural or artificial 



28 TRAVELS OF 

curiosities? What sort of people; what man- 
ners and what customs; what animals — birds, 
beasts, &c? 

If they passed through Samaria, w T hich was 
the nearest route to Jerusalem — and I sup- 
pose they did — at their first setting out from 
Nazareth for Jerusalem, they must have 
crossed the valley of Jezreel. This was a 
distance of twelve or fifteen miles; after 
which the road is chiefly hilly. 

And yet, although hilly, it can scarcely be 
called mountainous. Mount Carmel must 
have appeared some twenty-five miles distant, 
at the west, on the borders of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, having its top about 1,500 feet, 
or a quarter of a mile above the level of the 
water. On the northern side of the plain, to 
the east of the road by which they had de- 
scended from the mountain of Nazareth, stood 
Mount Tabor with the snows of the lofty Her- 
mon, at a much greater distance beyond it. 
But to the sight of these Jesus had always 
been accustomed, so that, though they were 
seen more distinctly in crossing the plain of 
Jezreel, they would not therefore present any 
thing very new. Beyond Samaria, on the 
east side of the city of Sychar or Shechem, are 



OUR SAVIOUR. 29 

the famous mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, 
where the curses of the law on certain wick- 
ed characters were pronounced; and it was 
on mount Gerizim that the Samaritan temple 
was built, in opposition to the temple of the 
true God at Jerusalem. 

There were no rivers on the road worth 
mentioning; nor any seas or lakes fairly in 
sight. The Mediterranean was some twenty 
or thirty miles off, the greater part of the way, 
and except from the hills could probably be 
seen only from Samaria and its neighborhood; 
and the sea or lake of Galilee, some fourteen 
or fifteen miles east of the road, could not be 
seen at all. 

As to cities and villages we hardly know, at 
this day, whether they passed any of much 
size or interest, except Samaria, Sychem or 
Shechem and Bethel. Galilee was indeed 
full of small cities, as we shall soon see; and 
so were some parts of Samaria and Judea — 
probably those through which lay the road to 
Jerusalem — but of these the names are not 
mentioned in the New Testament. As to cu- 
riosities, natural or artificial, I do not know 
that there were any till they came to Jerusa- 
lem. 

3* 



30 TRAVELS OF 

Palestine was not a country scattered over 
with farm-houses, with here and there a vil- 
lage town, or city, sending up its tall spires 
heavenward, like New England. Nor had it 
well fenced roads and fields, with their gra- 
zing flocks and herds, like our own. The 
eountry was indeed thickly settled, very 
much so in some parts of it; and its fields and 
vineyards were well tilled and highly produc- 
tive. Indeed it would be curious to us to see 
all the hills, even those whose declivities 
were most steep, richly cultivated — often in 
the form of stairs or steps to their very tops. 
But the inhabitants themselves were chiefly 
collected in little, close, compact villages, as 
we should call them, though they called them 
cities. There were also flocks and herds in 
great abundance, feeding on the thousand 
hills, but they were under the care of shep- 
herds; for a very small part only of the fields 
were fenced out, like ours. 

The complexion of the people is believed 
to have been somewhat darker than our own. 
What they wore on their heads I do not know. 
They clothed themselves, in general, with 
loose robes of various colors; purple, white, 
&c. On their feet they wore sandals; con- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 31 

sisting of a mere sole, and bound in their 
places with straps. 

I have already told you that there were 
none of our modern swift going vehicles there. 
Neither had they any coaches, nor any 
wagons, carts nor barrows. Perhaps a few 
of the wealthy had chariots; and a small num- 
ber of the people sometimes rode on horses, 
asses or mules. 

The houses were wholly unlike ours. They 
were in general, small and low, with flat roofs, 
having walks upon them; and the middle or 
central part consisted chiefly of an open court. 
There were still fewer shops, factories, or 
school-houses. The business of the people 
was grazing and agriculture. Each family 
usually manufactured every thing for itself, 
and instructed its own children. Whether 
there were stone bridges over the streams 
which run through the country, as there are 
very generally now, we have no means of 
knowing with certainty. 

When our travelers wished to stop at a 
house for the night, they were expected to 
take off their shoes and wash their feet. For 
refreshment they probably had bread, raisins, 
or figs; with parched corn perhaps, and hon- 



32 TRAVELS OF 

ey and milk. Their drink was water, with 
the addition, sometimes, if they chose to use 
it, of a little wine made of various fruits, often 
of the grape; and sometimes of the juice of 
the palm-tree. For bread, the Jews ground 
wheat or barley in handmills, and baked it in 
the form of thin cakes, usually without any 
yeast or leaven. 

Such was the country, such were the peo- 
ple, and such the customs which our Saviour 
must have witnessed in his first journey from 
Nazareth to Jerusalem; and indeed in nearly 
every subsequent journey. To most of them, 
it is true, he was far from being a stranger, as 
they were substantially the same with those 
which prevailed about Nazareth, where he 
was brought up. 

But he has now arrived at Jerusalem. 
Here, surely, you will say, was something 
new; and it was so. Here the Saviour and 
his parents spent the eight days of the feast 
in the usual manner. When the time was 
expired, Joseph and Mary set out on their 
return to Nazareth. 

As the crowd of people returning from these 
feasts was very great, especially the day after 
they closed, and it was hence perfectly easy 



OUR SAVIOUR. 33 

for parents to lose sight, for a time, of partic- 
ular members of their own families, we are 
not to wonder that Joseph and Mary should 
proceed a considerable distance from Jeru- 
salem without knowing that their son was not 
in the company. It seems as if they had 
traveled in this way all day, or nearly all day, 
before they discovered his absence. When 
they came to put up for the night, however, 
they found that Jesus was missing. It was in 
vain that they sought for him among their 
neighbors and acquaintances; he was not to 
be found. The truth was he had not yet left 
Jerusalem. 

Despairing of finding him any where on the 
road, and probably beginning by this time to 
be somewhat alarmed for his safety, Joseph 
and Mary went back in the morning to Jeru- 
salem in pursuit. It is by no means certain, 
however, that they set out very early in the 
morning, as they do not appear to have arrived 
at Jerusalem in time to make much search 
for him there until the morning of the third 
day, when, young as he was, he was found 
in the temple, with the learned Jewish doc- 
tors, asking and answering questions. 

The following well written paragraphs, ex- 



34 TRAVELS OF 

traded from the first chapter of Abbott's 
C£ Corner Stone" will greatly aid our concep- 
tion of the circumstances alluded to in this 
part of the travels of our Saviour. 

ce Some centuries ago, a large, a very large 
company were traveling northwardly in early 
summer, through a lovely country whose hills 
and valleys were clothed with the fig-tree, the 
olive, and the vine. They journeyed slowly, 
and without anxiety or care, for their route 
lay through a quiet land, the abode of peace 
and plenty. Friends and acquaintances were 
mingled together in groups, as accident or 
inclination might dictate, until the sun went 
down, and the approach of evening warned 
them to make preparation for rest. While 
the various families were drawing together 
for this purpose, the attention and the sympa- 
thy of the multitude were excited by the anx- 
ious looks and eager inquiries of a female, 
who was passing from group to group, with 
sorrow and agitation painted on her counte- 
nance. It was a mother who could not find 
her son. It was her only son, and one to 
whom, from peculiar circumstances, she was 
very strongly attached. He had never dis- 
obeyed her; — he had never given her unnec- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 35 

essary trouble, and the uncommon maturity 
of his mental and moral powers had probably 
led her to trust him much more to himself 
than in any other case would be justifiable. 
He was twelve years old, and she supposed 
that he had been safe in the company, but 
now night had come, and she could not find 
him. She went anxiously and sorrowfully 
from family to family, and from friend to friend, 
inquiring with deep solicitude, Have you 
seen my son? 

cc He was not to be found. No one had 
seen him, and the anxious parents left their 
company, and inquiring carefully by the way, 
went slowly back to the city whence they had 
come. 

"The city was in the midst of a country of 
mountains and valleys. Dark groves upon 
the summits crowned the richly cultivated 
fields which adorned their sides. The road 
wound along the glens and vales, sharing the 
passage with the streams, which flowed to- 
wards a neighboring sea. The city itself 
spread its edifices over the broad surface of 
a hill, one extremity of which was crowned 
with the spacious walls and colonnades of a 
temple, rising one above another, the whole 



36 TRAVELS OF 

pile beaming probably in the setting sun, as 
these anxious parents approached it, in all the 
dazzling whiteness of marble and splendor of 
gold. The parents, however, could not have 
thought much of the scene before them. 
They had lost their son. 

"With what anxious and fruitless search 
they spent the evening and the following 
morning, we do not know. They at last, how- 
ever, ascended to the temple itself. They 
passed from court to court, now going up the 
broad flight of steps which led from one to the 
other, now walking under a lofty colonnade, 
and now traversing a paved and ornamented 
area. At last, in a public part of this edifice, 
they found a group collected around a boy, 
and apparently listening to what he was say- 
ing; the feeling must have been mingled in- 
terest, curiosity and surprise. It was their 
son. His uncommon mental and moral matu- 
rity had by some means shown itself to those 
around him, and they were deeply interested 
in his questions and replies." 

One thought of this writer is particularly 
worthy of the reader's attention; the sugges- 
tion that perhaps, owing to the uncommon ma- 
turity of Jesus's mental and moral powers, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 37 

his father and mother were, much more than 
we are apt to think, accustomed to trust him 
away from them. 

We need not wonder when we learn, that 
the father and mother were amazed to find 
their son in such circumstances as I have 
described, and so employed. He was not a 
mere looker on, nor, as it would seem, a mere 
learner; for he was sitting, when found, in 
the very midst of the doctors, and though so 
young, he appears to have been treated by 
them as an equal. This was no doubt on ac- 
count of the wisdom which he manifested in 
his conversation, and which, we are told, as- 
tonished all who heard him. 

Joseph, notwithstanding his surprise, said 
little or nothing; but Mary ventured to com- 
plain of her son's conduct, inquiring why it 
was that he had thus treated his father and 
mother, and how he could be willing to give 
them so much trouble. And, at first view of 
the case, it does seem a little strange that he 
should have done so. Nor does his answer 
at all lessen the difficulties we are wont to 
feel. Yet, when we consider that he had a 
heavenly Parent to serve, as well as an earth- 
ly, when we consider that here an opportu- 
4 



38 TRAVEL SOF 

nity was afforded for saying a few words 
which should tend to glorify his Father in 
heaven, and when we consider that he was 
devoted to God in a peculiar manner by the 
parents themselves, we need not wonder 
longer at his conduct, nor at his reply, (t Know 
ye not that I must be about my Father's busi- 
ness?" Such a reply from an ordinary child 
of twelve years of age would not indeed be 
commendable; but Jesus was not an ordina- 
ry child; and did not Joseph and Mary well 
know this? It appears to me quite certain 
that they did; although it does not necessarily 
follow that they understood his character in 
all respects. Indeed we know they did not; 
for the Bible expressly says, " They under- 
stood not the saying which he spake unto 
them." 

There is one thing which shows most clear- 
ly that Jesus's remaining in the temple, as he 
did, after their departure, was no indication 
of disobedience; nor his reply to his mother 
an indication of obstinacy. I allude to the 
fact that he yielded at once to their .wishes, 
after they had found him, and went away with 
them immediately to Nazareth; his Father's 
work ? for the time, being completed. This 



OUR SAVIOUR. 39 

was an evidence of his good disposition; and 
had there been any thing wrong in his pre- 
vious conduct, the best evidence which could 
be afforded of penitence. It is also worthy 
of particular notice, that he was subject to his 
parents after his return with them to Naza- 
reth; and there is no evidence that he gave 
either of them the slightest pain again on his 
account, until he was twenty-nine years of 
age. Nay more than even all this; we have 
the contrary assurance, in the statement of the 
inspired evangelist, that he " increased in 
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and 
man." 

Whether the Saviour ever after this at- 
tended the feasts of his countrymen at Jeru- 
salem — I mean while he remained under his 
parents — we are not expressly told, though 
there is much reason for believing that he did. 
We find him always taking unwearied pains 
to be present at the Feast of the Passover, 
after he entered on his public ministry: but 
why at this time of a sudden, any more than 
before? Henry, in his Bible Commentary, 
says that during the period which intervened 
between his twelfth and thirtieth year, he 
doubtless, " came up to Jerusalem to worship 



40 TRAVELS OF 

at the feasts, three times a year;" but I do 
not consider the matter as quite certain. I 
only regard it as highly probable. But if he 
did thus attend, he certainly became some- 
thing of a traveler. Three such journeys a 
year would be no less than 450 miles, or, in 
the whole period, 8,000 miles — equal to a 
voyage to and from Europe; and all probably 
on foot. These journeys, with the time usu- 
ally spent in performing them, would con- 
sume, in a year, from six to eight weeks. 
For the rest of the time, he probably labored 
at his trade, as I have already told you. Such 
a busy life, alternated with so much walking, 
was one of the most natural and appropriate 
preparatives for the arduous duties of his 
subsequent public career — a life of going 
about and doing good — which could have been 
devised or imagined. It is only action that 
can fit us for action. How great, then, is 
the mistake of those who make the exercises 
and duties of the closet and the study their 
exclusive preparation for a life of active 
usefulness. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 41 



CHAPTER III. 

Jesus goes to Bethlehem— Is baptized— Fasts forty days in the 
desert — Returns to Galilee — Attends a Wedding at Cana — The 
miracle of turning Water into Wine — Whether the Saviour 
ever laughed, he being without sin— He visits Capernaum. 

When Jesus had completed his twenty- 
ninth year, and had just entered on his thirti- 
eth, he made a journey to the neighborhood 
of Jerusalem for a purpose entirely different 
from any thing which had hitherto governed 
his movements. The time had now come, 
which had been determined on in the councils 
of eternity, when he was to enter fully on his 
all-important mission. John, his predecessor 
and precursor, had already been in the field 
of action several months; preaching and bap- 
tizing. "To fulfil all righteousness, " # the 

* John's baptism was " unto repentance" only 3 and the Saviour 
being free from sin had nothing to repent of ; he therefore must 
have been baptized for other reasons. He was now, as I have 
said above, beginning to be thirty years of age — the age at which 
the Jewish priests entered upon their office; and as he was the 
great high priest both of Jews and Gentiles, it was proper that he 
should signify his entrance upon the duties of his office, in some 
appropriate way, as they did. Now what more appropriate than 
submitting to the baptism of John, an institution, as it was, of di- 
vine appointment? Another reason for his conduct may have 
been, to give occasion or opportunity, as it were, for God thus 

4* 



42 TRAVELS OF 

Saviour made a journey to the banks of the 
Jordan, eastward of Jerusalem some twelve or 
fifteen miles, to a place called Bethabara, to 
receive the rite of baptism at his hands, and 
perhaps to hear his instructions. But John 
knew him, and at the first thought refused to 
admit him — a person so much superior to him- 
self — to the ordinance. The Saviour, how- 
ever, insisting on it, John at length baptized 
him. 

If the conjectures of the preceding chapter 
in regard to the Saviour's going to Jerusalem, 
are according to truth, his journey to be bap- 
tized, was his fifty-third or fifty-fifth journey 
that way. But the journey was not yet com- 
pleted. He retired to a wilderness, situated 
in all probability in the province of Judea, 
between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, and 
there, with no companions but the wild beasts 
of the forest, and at times good or bad spirits, 
he spent forty days. Throughout this long 
season of retirement, during the whole of 
which he fasted, he was much tempted by 
the devil; but he came off, as we might ex- 
pect from his character, wholly victorious. 

publicly and at the commencement of his ministry, to declare his 
approbation of him, and his solemn appointment to the office of 
Messiah. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 43 

Subsequently to his temptation in the wil- 
derness, he appears to have gone again to 
Bethabara, where he had been baptized, and 
to have gained a more intimate acquaintance 
than before with John the Baptist. He also 
seems by this time, to have become somewhat 
extensively known as the Messiah, although 
the notions of the people about him were both 
limited and confused. 

Returning soon after this interview with 
John, to his native village at Nazareth, he 
was accompanied thither by two of John's 
disciples. One of these was Andrew the 
brother of Peter; the other is supposed to 
have been John the evangelist. Peter him- 
self, together with Philip, a fellow-townsman 
of Andrew and Peter, soon joined themselves 
to the company; and so did Nathaniel whom 
Jesus describes as being an Israelite indeed, 
in whom was no guile. These five individuals 
became our Saviour's traveling companions; 
and were, for the most part, constantly with 
him. 

About this time there was to be a wedding 
in the small city of Cana, a few miles from 
Nazareth, and our Saviour and his little com- 
pany of fellow-travelers, together with his 



44 TRAVELS OF 

mother Mary (and perhaps, too, his father, if 
he was still living), were invited thither. The 
invitation was accepted, and they all attended 
the festivities. 

Here it was that the Saviour wrought his 
first miracle, that of turning water into wine. 
We know not that he made any use of the 
wine himself; but it was customary in that 
country for the guests, on those occasions, to 
make use of it, to some extent; and it added 
to the interest of the occasion to have an in- 
creased quantity of this beverage furnished 
in a manner so remarkable, and of a quality 
greatly superior to any which they had on 
hand, made in the usual natural way. The 
miracle was, moreover, a means of noising 
abroad the Saviour's fame, through ail that 
region. 

Let me avail myself, on this occasion, to 
venture a few remarks, here, on the saying 
that our Saviour often wept, but never laughed. 
Now I know, very well, that as a general fact, 
he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
grief. But then there were moments of his 
life when he was cheerful. Such v/as the one 
to which I have just alluded. Here he was 
at a wedding, making glad the guests, as we 
have every reason to believe, by his presence. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 45 

We do not indeed know that he laughed, 
nor can we suppose that he ever joined in 
that boisterous mirth which on occasions like 
the one in question has been sometimes wit- 
nessed. Still we are justified in believing he 
was cheerful, smiling, and happy; and that 
he contributed to make others happy who 
were present with him. 

Perhaps, too, he sometimes laughed. Is 
not man a laughing animal? And would we 
regard that individual quite perfect as a man, 
who should never in his whole life be known 
to laugh? Now is it not as certain that Jesus 
was perfect in his humanity as well as in his 
divinity ? But if he was a perfect man, is it 
credible that, in his whole life, he should nev- 
er be known to laugh? 

Let us return, however, to our main subject 
— that of his travels. He had now fairly be- 
gun his mission; his fame had begun to be 
spread abroad; and wherever he went he 
was sure to be followed by a great multitude 
of the inhabitants; some from curiosity, some 
from a desire to find fault, and some for other 
and various reasons. 

But did the knowledge of the influence he 
had over the minds of the people — did the 



46 TRAVELS OF 

knowledge of his wonderful popularity, I mean 
— make him vain or proud? Far enough 
from that. We all know how dangerous such 
circumstances as those in which he was now 
placed usually are to virtue and piety. No 
mere human being in the world, not even the 
most eminently pious, is or ever was full 
proof against their tendency. The best man 
on earth is in more or less danger of having 
his head turned by seeing multitudes following 
him, and, as it were, saying Hosanna. Now 
a single feeling of this sort, indulged but for 
one moment, in the breast of our Saviour, 
would have been sinful. But does not the 
Bible expressly say he was without sin? We 
may be assured, therefore, that his head was 
never turned, nor his heart lifted up, in the 
least, by the praises or the flatteries of the 
multitudes who followed him, even when they 
came, at last, to spread their very garments 
in the way before him. 

I may include, in this chapter, a short visit 
made by Jesus to Capernaum. This city lay 
some sixteen or eighteen miles a little north 
of east from Nazareth, on the shore of the lake 
of Galilee, or, as it was commonly called, in 
those days, the sea of Galilee. In this ex- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 47 

cursion he was accompanied by his mother, 
by his brethren — for his father and mother, or 
at least his father had several children besides 
himself; whom he always called his brethren 
— and by his disciples or traveling compan- 
ions. He does not appear to have staid there 
long, however, in this instance. The evan- 
gelist says "they continued there not many 
days." Of any works which may have been 
performed by him there during this visit, we 
are not informed. Capernaum, however, be- 
came, at length, not only the place of his 
residence, but the scene of many of his most 
mighty works; but of these I shall say 
something in their appropriate places. 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Saviour goes to Jerusalem — Why he attended feasts — Profa- 
nation of the temple by buyers and sellers— Jesus drives them 
out — Miracles wrought — Interview with Nicodemus— Jesus sets 
out for Galilee — Stops at Jacob's well near Shechem — His ad- 
ventures — Proceeds to Galilee and stops at Cana. 

The season was now fast approaching for 
attending the Feast of the Passover. Jesus, 



48 TRAVELS OF 

therefore, with his disciples, left Capernaum, 
and proceeded to Jerusalem. This was the 
first regular religious feast he appears to have 
attended after entering on the duties of his 
public ministry. 

Was he fond of attending these feasts? not 
a few individuals may be inclined to ask. By 
no means. To be fond of feasting, in itself, 
and for itself considered — that is for the sake 
of the mere animal gratification it afforded — 
would be sinful. But the Saviour, I again 
say, was without sin, entirely so; though he 
was exposed to all sorts of temptation. I 
quote, for once, the language of an apostle 
who speaks of it, that it may be remembered. 
" Who was in all points tempted as we are, 
yet without sin." 

But if not fond of feasting, in itself consid- 
ered, why did he attend feasts? Most un- 
questionably for two reasons. One was that 
he might fulfil all righteousness; or, in other 
words, comply with all the laws and regularly 
constituted observances of the religion of the 
nation to which he belonged. It was for this 
very same reason that he had waited till the 
beginning of his thirtieth year, before entering 
on his priesthood. For the same reason again, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 49 

he had submitted to the baptism of John, at 
Bethabara. The Jews had their religious 
baptisms, to which they submitted both before 
and at the time of John; though they were 
not exactly like ours. But there was another 
great and important reason why Jesus attend- 
ed the Jewish feasts. It was that he might 
do good; for which there was always at these 
feasts a fine opportunity. 

I have said that these feasts afforded a fine 
opportunity for doing good. This must have 
been the case, as a matter of course, in so 
large a city as Jerusalem and where so large 
a multitude of people were assembled. Jeru- 
salem alone, according to some historians, con- 
tained at this time, several millions of inhabi- 
tants; and, according to all accounts, was very 
populous. Then think of an addition to these 
numbers, of all the people in the nation, or 
almost all, above the age of twelve years. 
What a multitude there must have been often 
seen in the streets, as well as about the tem- 
ple, at these festivals! 

One thing more may be mentioned to show 

that the crowdof people, on these occasions, was 

very great. Though not found in the Bible, 

it is stated as a fact by those who ought to know. 

5 



50 TRAVELS OF 

It is that 250,000 lambs were sometimes offered 
up in sacrifice at one of these anniversaries. 

Those who brought lambs, doves, &c, to 
Jerusalem to sell at the festivals, had, in the 
time of our Saviour, fallen into the practice 
of taking them into the temple, as they would 
into a market-house, and of exposing them 
for sale there. This brought all sorts of sec- 
ular or worldly business into a place for which 
it was never intended. The temple of the 
Most High God was never erected that its sa- 
cred courts should be disturbed with the din 
of buyers and sellers and money-changers. 

Our Saviour, grieved at such a profanation 
of holy things, resolved to put an end to it. 
With this view, having, as the Scripture ex- 
presses it, made a whip of small cords, he 
drove all the dealers out of the temple, giving 
them, at the same time, the reason for his 
conduct; which was that his Father's house 
was never designed to be a house of merchan- 
dize, but to be devoted to sacred purposes. 

When I was quite young, like some of my 
readers, I used to wonder how these buyers 
and sellers came to submit so tamely to be 
driven out of the temple by a single individual. 
I wondered, too, that the Saviour should thus 



OUR SAVIOUR. 51 

assume the appearance of violence and sever- 
ity. And it is quite possible, that the minds 
of some of my readers may have been dis- 
turbed in like manner. 

But it should not be forgotten or overlooked, 
that though neither the people of Jerusalem, 
nor those of any other city or country where 
Jesus traveled, perfectly understood his char- 
acter, yet it was generally known, ere this, 
that he was a most remarkable personage. 
They took him to be, at least, a prophet. 
Now a prophet had great authority among 
the Jews. He was regarded, of course, in 
the light of a reformer; and not only as dis- 
posed to reform existing errors and abuses, 
but as having full power to do so. Hence it 
was that they submitted to his requirements 
and commands. It was not that they were 
afraid, in the present instance, of the Saviour's 
simple instrument of attack. This was not, 
probably, intended to be used, but only car- 
ried in the hand as an emblem of the authori- 
ty, which, as a prophet of God,— for a prophet 
indeed he was, — he was about to exercise. 

I do not mean to say that the Jews never 
did, in any instance resist the authority claimed 
by their prophets. On the contrary, as is 



52 TRAVELS OF 

well known, they did very often resist them. 
Many of the prophets were, in fact, not only 
resisted, but cruelly persecuted, and some 
were slain. Yet they were also sometimes 
treated with deference and respect, in the 
first place; and it was not till the prejudices 
and the passions of the populace became ex- 
cited by their leaders, that a mob was raised 
against them, by whose influence and effort 
it was that they were ill treated or destroyed. 
It seems, however, that some of the Jews 
who were present on the occasion of which I 
have been speaking — though perhaps it was 
not the buyers and sellers themselves — ven- 
tured to question Christ's authority. They 
asked him to give them proofs of it. Proph- 
ets were, in those days, considered as fully 
authorized to act as such, when they had the 
power of working miracles, and these Jews 
seem to have expected, in asking Jesus for a 
sign of his authority at this time, that a miracle 
would be wrought by him. And what they ex- 
pected seems to have been granted; though not 
till something else had been done, in the first 
place. " Destroy this temple," said he, "and 
in three days I will rear it up; 55 referring to 
his crucifixion, through the instrumentality of 



OUR SAVIOUR. 53 

the Jews, and to his resurrection by his own 
power. — After this, he proceeded to work 
miracles among them though we are not told 
particularly of what kind they were. 

It was during the stay of the Saviour in 
Jerusalem, at this very Feast of the Passover, 
that a Jewish doctor or Rabbi, by the name 
of Nicodemus, came to him in the night, and 
desired instruction. Whether he came in 
the night because he was ashamed or afraid 
to come in the day time, or because he could 
not spare any other time for the visit, or 
whether it was for some other reason, is not 
known. The interview was an interesting 
one, and the conversation between them, as 
recorded in John, 3d chapter, is one of the 
most instructive to be found in the Bible. 
There is reason, moreover, for believing that 
it was a means of great good to the Rabbi, 
Nicodemus; for, whatever may have been his 
motives in coming to Christ by night at first, 
he was not ashamed or afraid to confess him 
openly and in the day time afterward, as we 
find from the seventh and nineteenth chapters 
of the same gospel. 

Not long after the interview with Nicode- 
mus, the Saviour, accompanied by his disci- 



54 TRAVELS OF 

pies, traveled about in various parts of the 
province of Judea, teaching and preaching, 
and endeavoring to reform people wherever 
he went. Those who were converted, were 
also baptized; but it would seem from the 
fourth chapter of the gospel of John, as 
well as from other accounts in the record, 
that the new converts were baptized by the 
disciples of the Saviour, and not by the Sa- 
viour himself. 

Whether he had any more interviews with 
John the Baptist, at this time, we are not told. 
We are informed, however, that John was 
still preaching and baptizing, in the neigh- 
borhood of the river Jordan, and that he was 
greatly rejoiced to hear of the labors and suc- 
cess of Jesus. 

We have spoken, above, of the travels of 
the Saviour in Judea. The reader will per- 
ceive how difficult it is to form any thing like 
an accurate estimate of the extent of our Sa- 
viour's travels in these excursions — whether 
he traveled hundreds of miles merely, or thou- 
sands, and the still greater difficulty of pre- 
paring a chart of these travels — a thing which 
was at first intended. Of what service would 
it be to attempt to determine, at this day, the 



OUR SAVIOUR. 55 

route pursued by the Son of God on these oc- 
casions! Who would be the wiser for it, 
where all must, at best, be nothing more than 
conjecture? Maps and charts are of inesti- 
mable advantage, especially to the young, 
when they teach certain truth; but they are 
worse than useless in inculcating what is 
merely conjectural, especially in regard to 
the travels of the Son of God. 

At length the Saviour was ready to return 
to Galilee. His disciples accompanied him 
thither. Their journey led them through Sa- 
maria. It is true they could have gone anoth- 
er way, but the distance would have been 
nearly twice as great. They therefore chose, 
generally, in passing from the province of 
Galilee to that of Judea, and in the contrary 
direction, also, to cross the province of Sama- 
ria, which lay between. 

You probably know, already, that there 
was enmity, in those days, between the real 
Jews and the Samaritans, who were a mon- 
grel sort of Jews; and that the ill feeling 
often went so far that they would scarcely 
speak to each other. Nay, their hatred some- 
times proceeded so far that the one party 
were hardly willing to have the other go 



56 TRAVELS OF 

through their villages or travel their roads. 
Indeed, there was no period of their history 
when a Jew and a Samaritan were willing to 
hold any friendly intercourse, or, above all, 
to eat or drink together, or borrow of each 
other. 

Jesus and his disciples probably reached 
Shechem, or Sychar, at nearly noon, the day 
after their departure from Jerusalem. The 
distance was about thirty-five miles. Sama- 
ria, the capital of the province of Samaria, 
was about six or eight miles still farther on, 
and was a much more magnificent place. 

I have said that they reached Shechem 
about noon. Christ does not appear to have 
yet gone into the city himself. He had 
stopped at Jacob's well, which was on the 
road just before they entered into the city. 
Here he was alone, resting from the fatigues 
of his journey, and perhaps, too, of the ex- 
cessive heat, while his disciples were gone 
into the city to buy and bring back some pro- 
visions. As there was no better seat for him, 
Jesus sat resting on the side of the well, or 
on what we should perhaps call the well-curb. 

While sitting there, a Samaritan woman 
came from the city of Shechem with her water- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 57 

pot, to draw water from the well. Jesus, as 
if regardless of customs which he well knew 
existed, asked her for a draught of the water. 
She was surprised at this, and could not re- 
frain from asking how a Jew — for a Jew she 
saw plainly he was — should ask a Samaritan 
for drink. This led to that long conversation 
between her and the Saviour, which we find 
so admirably related in the fourth chapter of 
John. It also led to the conversion of many 
of the Samaritans, who had collected together 
during the conversation; and perhaps to that 
of the woman herself. 

The whole of this conversation at the well, 
not only of Jesus and the Samaritan woman, 
but of Jesus and his disciples, is exceedingly 
important and interesting. Perhaps no part 
of it, however, is more truly instructive than 
the conversation between Jesus and his disci- 
ples. When they first came back from the 
city with provisions, their confidence in him 
was not a little staggered, in consequence of 
finding him talking with an obscure and per- 
haps vicious Samaritan woman; and they 
could hardly help manifesting their surprise; 
though they did not venture, at first, to utter 
any direct complaints. 



58 TRAVELS OF 

At length, however, hungry probably them- 
selves, and supposing he must needs be hun- 
gry also, they begged him to eat something. 
" I have meat to eat," said he, {C that ye know 
not of;" and lest they should not even then 
fully understand him, he added; " My meat 
is to do the will of him that sent me, and to 
finish his work." 

So great was the interest Jesus awakened 
among the Samaritans of Shechem, that they 
insisted on his remaining with them awhile; 
and he accordingly spent a day or two there. 
After which he resumed his journey, and in 
due time, arrived with his disciples in Galilee. 

It was now the beginning of winter. He 
had spent his summer in traveling about Ju- 
dea — in teaching and preaching and doing 
good. 

It appears that the Galileans, his country- 
men, received him at first, with great joy. 
They had heard what he had done, at the 
Feast of the Passover, at Jerusalem, and 
were probably anxious to witness some of his 
mighty works. The miracle of turning the 
water into wine, though performed among 
them, few of them had witnessed. It could 
have been witnessed only by the guests. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 59 

Why Jesus, upon his return, did not go 
directly to Nazareth, it may be difficult to say. 
He seems, however, without stopping there, to 
have gone directly along to Cana in Galilee. 
Here he rested awhile, but not long. There 
was to be little more rest for him, while he 
lived. As he had devoted his life to doing 
good to the souls and bodies of men, in a 
world where there is so much to be done, it 
was morally impossible for him to remain 
quiet a great while, unless he hid himself. 
One writer of the "Life of Christ " seems to 
be of opinion that he lay still, as we should 
call it; that is, did nothing, or almost nothing, 
in one instance, during a whole summer;* 
but, from the very nature of the case, it seems 
to, me next to impossible to believe such an 
opinion to be correct. If he was much among 

* It is a singular fact that this writer belongs to a class of our 
community who seem to believe that they best obey the great 
command, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature," when they spend a pretty large proportion of 
their time in the society of relatives and friends, endeavoring to 
make them happy. Now I do not object to the general idea 
herein advanced ; but it unfortunately happens that those who 
make the most of it seem to do very little for their fellow-men, 
either at home or abroad ; but that, on the contrary, they grad- 
ually fall into a state of what I call refined selfishness ; and what 
is still worse, endeavor to sustain themselves in it, as it appears 
from this instance, by the example of our Saviour. 



60 TRAVELS OF 

his friends, at Nazareth or Capernaum, why 
should they so eagerly embrace every oppor- 
tunity of his arrival any where near them, to 
go out and meet him? It appears to me, that, 
instead of indulging himself even in the socie- 
ty of dear friends, he denied himself in this 
respeet, almost continually, and was ever on 
the alert to do good, leaving his friends 
and relations, while they were in health, to 
provide for their own wants, at least their 
temporal ones. 



CHAPTER V. 

Jesus heals the son of a nobleman at Capernaum — Goes to Naz- 
areth—Attends worship at the Jewish synagogue — Gives of- 
fence — They seize him and drag him away to destroy him — He 
escapes, and goes to Capernaum — Calls several of his disciples 
— Casts out a devil— Cures Peter's wife of a fever — Multitude 
of the sick brought to him — Jesus's habit of early rising — His first 
regular tour of Galilee^— Sermon on the mount — Crowds of people 
to hear him — Teaching from the ship — Miracle of the fishes — 
The leper cured — Cure of the paralytic — Matthew called. 

While Jesus and his disciples were at Cana, 
a message came to him requesting his imme- 
diate presence at Capernaum. The occasion 



OUR SAVIOUR. 61 

of the message was this. There was a noble- 
man, at Capernaum, whose son was at the 
point of death, who, having heard of the Sa- 
viour's miraculous power, ventured to beg of 
him to come and restore his son. Jesus, to 
try his faith, hesitated a little; but, finding it 
strong and unwavering, he bade him go home in 
peace, for his son would recover. The no- 
bleman obeyed at once, and while going home, 
his servants met him, and told him that his 
son was already fast recovering. On asking 
them when he began to amend, they told him 
the fever left him at a particular hour the day 
before. It turned out that the favorable 
change took place precisely at the time of day 
in which Jesus told him his son would live. 
The nobleman and his whole household be- 
came, in consequence of the miracle, disci- 
ples of Christ. 

Sometime afterward, the Saviour returned to 
Nazareth. On the Sabbath after his arrival, 
he repaired, as was his custom, to the syna- 
gogue, to join in its religious exercises; prob- 
ably also to improve any opportunity that 
might offer of giving public instruction to his 
countrymen. 

It seems that the Jews, in their synagogue 
6 



6*2 TRAVELS OF 

worship, were accustomed to have several 
different persons read to them from the Scrip- 
tures — some say no less than seven. Nor 
was it uncommon for them to ask this service 
of distinguished persons who happened to be 
present. Either on this account, or else be- 
cause our Lord, as some suppose, had been 
accustomed to perform this exercise, in this 
synagogue he was presented with the book of 
Isaiah, and requested to read it. He com- 
plied, selecting such passages as he chose. 
Some of these were so obviously applicable 
to himself, while others set forth so plainly 
the fact that God was about to show favor to 
the Gentiles, that the prejudices of his hearers 
were so greatly excited, that they became 
quite angry with him. They rose against 
him, even on the Sabbath, and in the syna- 
gogue, and with all the customary violence of 
a mob, they seized him, determined to take 
his life. To such extremity, however, not- 
withstanding the violence of their rage, they 
did not probably dare to go within the limits 
of the village, but they were determined to do 
it somewhere, and somehow or other. 

A little to the south of Nazareth, on the 
side of the mountain or range of mountains 



OUR SAVIOUR. 63 

on which the place was situated, was a steep 
declivity or precipice. Towards this precipice, 
they hurried him along, intending to throw 
him off, head foremost. Had they succeed- 
ed in accomplishing their wicked purpose, he 
must inevitably have been dashed in pieces; 
for the height of the precipice was not less 
than fifty feet. 

But his hour had not yet come; and, though 
the whole world had been in arms against 
him, he would have found means to escape. 
Ere they came quite to the brink of the prec- 
ipice — or brow of the hill, as the evangelist 
calls it — he turned himself about, and though 
armed with no weapon but innocence, he 
passed through the midst of the furious mob, 
and went away. 

Were they blinded? Did he palsy their 
arms or their hands, by an unseen power? 
Or were they so overawed by some singular 
exhibition of his holiness, that they had no 
power to retain him, and no disposition to fol- 
low him till it was too late? In any event he 
escaped, and went, forthwith, to Capernaum. 

Where were the disciples during the riot? 
If present, were they not in danger? And if 
in danger, did they go away with their Lord 



64 TRAVELS OF 

and Master? These are all questions which 
I cannot answer. It is hardly probable, how- 
ever, that they had, as yet, become so identi- 
fied with the Saviour as to be much exposed 
to the hatred, or at least to the violence of 
those who both hated and persecuted him. 
They had, as yet, for the most part, been mere 
hearers of his preaching, teaching, and con- 
versation — mere scholars. They had their 
day of persecution for the sake of the truth, 
but it does not seem to have, at this time, 
quite arrived. 

I have said that the Saviour, after he was 
treated thus ill at Nazareth, went to Caper- 
naum. At this place, instead of Nazareth, 
he took up his abode. Nor was it far from 
this period, that he heard the unwelcome in- 
telligence, that his friend John the Baptist, 
at the command of king Herod, had been im- 
prisoned. 

Notwithstanding his reception at Nazareth, 
and though Capernaum, his new residence, 
was little more than half a day's journey dis- 
tant, the Saviour did not hesitate to appear 
boldly in the city, and indeed in the adjacent 
country, and proclaim every where the gos- 
pel of the kingdom of God. "The time is 



OUR SAVIOUR. 65 

fulfilled," he would say, f£ and the kingdom 
of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the 
gospel." 

Hitherto, though Peter and Andrew and 
perhaps a few others had been introduced to 
him, and been much in his company, they do 
not appear to have been set apart as his con- 
stant companions. But the time had at length 
arrived, when he thought it proper to have 
them continually with him. 

Peter and Andrew were fishermen, and 
made it their home at Capernaum. One day 
as Jesus was walking along the shore of the 
sea of Galilee, where they were toiling with 
their nets, he bade them leave their employ- 
ment and follow him, and become, as he 
called it, fishers of men. They left their nets, 
at once, how dearly soever they loved the em- 
ployment in which they had been brought up, 
and by means of which they had been accus- 
tomed to obtain much of their subsistence and 
that of their families, and henceforth became 
his constant associates. James and John, the 
sons of Zebedee, by employment fishermen, 
were at the same time invited to follow him 
and be with him; they also immediately left 
their employment, their father, and their other 
6* 



66 TRAVELS OF 

relatives, and became, like Peter and Andrew, 
his intimate companions and friends. 

While in Capernaum, the Saviour, in ac- 
cordance with his early habits, attended the 
Jewish worship on the Sabbath, at their syn- 
agogues. Here he was not only a public 
reader, but, at times, with the permission of 
the elders or rulers of the synagogues, a 
preacher. Here it was, that, as he was 
preaching one day, he encountered a noisy, 
turbulent spirit which had possessed an indi- 
vidual there, and cast him out, to the great 
amazement of all the bystanders: a circum- 
stance which did more to spread abroad his 
fame through all that region than any previ- 
ous action or miracle. 

It was here, too, during his early residence 
in the place, and soon after Peter, Andrew, 
John and James had become his regular and 
constant associates, that he cured Peter's wife 
miraculously of a fever; which circumstance, 
together with that mentioned in the last 
paragraph, proved the occasion of having 
almost or quite all the sick in the city brought 
to him to be healed. So numerous were his 
patients — especially one Sabbath evening, for 
they would not often bring them to him on 



OUR SAVIOUR. 67 

the Sabbath till after sunset — that it is said, 
on one occasion "all the city was gathered 
together at the door," either to be cured 
themselves, or to witness the cure of others. 

It was during his residence in Capernaum 
that we first find from the sacred record that 
he was accustomed to early rising. Doubtless 
it was the habit of his early youth; but it is 
no where so stated. He not only rose early — 
" a great while before day," but he sometimes 
engaged — perhaps generally — at this early 
hour, in prayer. 

At this period in the history of the Saviour, 
we find it first recorded of him that he made 
the complete tour of Galilee. This, if we may 
credit the Jewish historian Josephus, was no 
inconsiderable task. True Galilee was a 
small territory, not twice as large, I suppose, 
as the little State of Rhode-Island; and yet 
Josephus says it contained no less than two 
hundred and forty cities and towns, the least 
of which contained 15,000 inhabitants. This 
alone, to say nothing of smaller places, would 
make out a population of more than 3,000,000. 

I suppose, however, that when the Bible 
says the Saviour went about all Galilee, it 
does not mean to affirm positively that he 



68 TRAVELS OF 

went into each of its cities, towns and villages. 
It is indeed possible that such is the meaning 
of the evangelist who makes the statement, 
but not very probable. The most probable 
opinion is, that he went into all parts or quar- 
ters of the province, and into the principal 
cities. Among these last, besides those which 
I have already mentioned incidentally, were 
Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nain, Cesa- 
rea, Philippi, and Ptolemais or Acre. 

But his labors, in teaching, preaching, and 
curing the sick, were not confined to the in- 
habitants of the province of Galilee, even 
while he was traveling there. The people 
of Syria which lay to the north of Galilee, had 
heard of his fame, and they, too, brought their 
sick to him. So did the people of Jerusalem, 
and of the whole province of Judea, as well 
as of the country which lay eastward of the 
river Jordan. In short, the demand upon 
him for instruction and aid began to be exces- 
sive, so that had he not been something more 
than mere man, and had he bestowed his la- 
bors without any interruption, he must have 
been soon worn out by the consequent ex- 
citement, exhaustion and debility. 

It was at this juncture, however, that in 



OUR SAVIOUR. 69 

view of the crowd who pressed upon him, he 
resolved to retire a little while to a favorable 
hill or mountain, not far perhaps from Caper- 
naum — though the place is not certainly- 
known — where, if he could not wholly escape 
the throng, he might at least spend some time 
in more familiar instruction and conversation. 
So having ascended the mountain, followed 
more closely by a few disciples, but more re- 
motely by the multitude who had collected 
together to hear him, he there delivered to 
them that very remarkable discourse, known 
in all ages by the name of the Sermon on the 
Mount. 

When his sermon was finished and he had 
come down from the mountain, both the curi- 
osity of the multitude and their desire for in- 
struction remained unsatisfied. They still 
pressed upon him to see and hear him. He 
resorted to a new device, which was to get into 
a ship,* and after pushing it away from the 
shore a little, to sit in it and instruct the crowd, 
as they collected around the water's edge. 



* It is called a ship in the Bible, as indeed almost every thing 
was which was made to float on the water, from the largest ves- 
sels to the smallest boats. It is, however, most probable that the 
ship alluded to here, was a mere fishing-boat. 



70 TRAVELS OF 

It was probably at the close of one of his 
discourses thus delivered from a fishing-boat, 
that Jesus wrought his splendid miracle of the 
fishes. Peter, who occasionally followed his 
old employment still, with a companion or 
two, having been fishing all the preceding 
night without success, was ordered by the 
Saviour to cast his net once more. Doubtful 
at first, he hesitated; but soon concluded to 
obey. The consequence was a haul of fish 
so large that the net began to break, and Pe- 
ter and his companion were obliged to call 
on James and John to assist them: and though 
we may suppose that many of the fish escaped 
through the broken net, they filled two boats 
to the water's edge, with what remained. 
Peter was astonished, beyond measure, at the 
event, and so were James and John; and 
their confidence in the Saviour, from that 
hour, was greatly increased. 

There are doubts in the minds of some 
writers and commentators about the historical 
order of the events here mentioned. By a 
few it is supposed that the circumstances al- 
luded to in the last two paragraphs took place 
before delivering the Sermon on the Mount, 
rather than after it. I have followed my own 



OUR SAVIOUR. 71 

judgment, aided by what I conceive to be the 
best authorities; and yet it is quite possible, 
after all, that I may have erred. 

Shortly after this, an individual who was ex- 
ceedingly afflicted with leprosy — a disease 
which is generally regarded as incurable — 
was brought to Jesus to be healed. It is not 
quite certain that the people had before 
thought of bringing lepers to him, though it 
is probable they had, as we are told that he 
cured cc all manner of sickness, and all man- 
ner of disease; 5 ' and leprosy was quite com- 
mon in that country. 

The crowds of people still increased upon 
him, especially after the cure of the leper, to 
an extent which rendered it almost impossible, 
at times, for him to pass through the streets 
of the large cities. On this account he spent 
a part of his time in wild, uncultivated places 
— deserts as they were then called; both for 
the sake of quiet, and in order that he might 
give himself to meditation and prayer. But 
there was no entire escape for him, in desert 
or city. 

The Saviour's wonderful popularity, not- 
withstanding the toil and trouble it brought 
with it, could not fail to awaken the prejudices 



72 TRAVELS OF 

and the envy, and wound the pride, of men 
who thought themselves far better than he; 
among whom stood foremost the Pharisees and 
learned Jewish doctors. The following will 
afford a specimen of the spirit they manifested. 

One day when the Saviour had been out 
awhile — probably in some desert — he entered 
Capernaum, apparently unobserved, and re- 
paired to his accustomed lodgings. But as it 
was soon discovered that he was in the house, 
and the crowd began to collect at the door, 
he did not refuse to preach to them. In the 
mean time, the friends of the poor man who 
was suffering from the palsy, found means to 
get him tb the top of the building and to let 
him down into the opening or court within, 
which, as I have elsewhere told you, it was 
customary to have in Eastern dwelling-houses. 
Here it was that on account of the great faith 
he exhibited, Jesus publicly forgave him his 
sins. 

At the idea of forgiving his sins, the Phar- 
isees and other learned men immediately took 
offence, and accused Jesus of blasphemy. 
"Who is it," said they, "can forgive sins, 
but God?" Jesus, however, pursued his own 
course, not only assuring them that he had 



OUR SAVIOUR. 73 

full power to forgive sin, but also to cure the 
most obstinate disease; and that it was no 
blasphemy or wrong, in him to do either. He 
then proceeded at once to heal the disease, 
so that the man walked away to his own house, 
as well as ever he was in his life. The 
Pharisees at this knew not what more to say; 
and for the present ceased to trouble him; 
though there is no doubt that much envious, 
not to say malicious, feeling continued to ran- 
kle in their bosoms. 

Again the Saviour went out and taught the 
people by the sea-side, as before. Here he 
added another to the number of his disciples. 
It was Matthew, a publican or tax-gatherer. 
This man left his employment — which was 
probably more profitable than fishing, and 
some say it was even lucrative — with as much 
readiness as the poor fishermen had left theirs; 
and followed Jesus as perseveringly as they 
did. He was sometimes called Levi, the son 
of Alpheus. 

I have now mentioned, very briefly, most 
of the more important events which took place 
during our Saviour's first course of travels, 
in the performance of his public ministry in 
Galilee. Not that I have related half that he 
7 



74 TRAVELS OF 

said and did, even of what is mentioned in the 
Bible. For, besides the Sermon on the Mount, 
which is quite a long one, there are several 
parables omitted, as unnecessary in a book of 
this kind; to say nothing of the details of ma- 
ny events of his life, of greater or less impor- 
tance. 

Moreover, the Bible itself contains but a 
mere sketch of what Jesus said and did, as we 
are expressly told by John, one of the evan- 
gelists, who speaks as if it would take, as it 
were, a world full of books to contain every 
thing! — Have you ever thought how much 
space would be required for recording all the 
sayings and doings of a busy man even for 
one day? How much more then for a month! 
And how much more still for a year! — But 
who was ever so busily or industriously en- 
gaged, in speaking or acting, as our Saviour 
was, during the great part of his public min- 
istry ? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 75 



CHAPTER VI. 



Jesus goes to Jerusalem, at the Feast of the Passover — Miracle 
at the pool of Bethesda — Opposition of the Jews — They seek to 
kill him — Traveling through the corn-fields — Healing on the 
Sabbath — Rage of the Scribes and Pharisees — Jesus returns sud- 
denly to Galilee — Teaching again from a boat — The twelve 
apostles ordained — Character of Judas Iscariot — A sermon on 
the plain — Jesus goes to Capernaum — Heals the son of the 
centurion. 

Our Lord was at this time, as it is generally 
believed, about thirty-one years of age; or 
perhaps a little more; having preached not 
far from a year. Another Passover was now 
approaching, which he was anxious to attend. 
With this view, and accompanied by his dis- 
ciples, he made a second tour to Jerusalem. 

It was on this occasion, and probably not 
long after his arrival in the holy city, that he 
performed the miraculous cure of a man at 
the pool of Bethesda. The man had been 
sick thirty-eight years; and from the account 
which the Bible gives of his case was probably 
poor and helpless. "Rise, take up thy bed 
and walk;" said the Saviour; and the man 
was healed in an instant. 



76 TRAVELS OF 

These Jewish beds, as I ought perhaps 
here to say, were not exactly like our beds, 
but much more simple, and therefore much 
more easy to carry about. They consisted, 
merely, of one or more suitable coverlets 
which they wrapped or rather rolled round 
themselves, when they wished to sleep, and 
in which, wherever there was a convenient 
place, they lay down. Perhaps they some- 
times lay on bedsteads; indeed it appears 
quite evident that they did; but a bedstead 
was by no means considered as indispensably 
necessary. 

The cure of the poor sick man, at Bethesda, 
was performed on the Sabbath. The Jews, 
who thought a great deal of keeping the Sab- 
bath day with rigid exactness, could not put 
up with this; and they complained, most bit- 
terly, about it, though they did not venture to 
make their complaints directly to Jesus. He 
knew their thoughts, however,and perceiving, 
as we may readily suppose, that they might 
possibly attempt violence, # he left them and 

* One strong evidence of the divine character of our Saviour may- 
be gathered from the fact, so continually alluded to by the evan- 
gelists, that he knew the thoughts of those around him. Now, who 
can thus see through that external shell, as it were, in which men 
often wrap themselves, but he that is omniscient] and who is om- 
niscient but God ? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 77 

went away. What was expected, actually 
came to pass. The irritated Jews pursued 
him, and sought to kill him. 

In one instance, on this occasion, they met 
with him, and a conversation ensued, which, 
though intended to calm their feelings, by es- 
tablishing his authority to work miracles when 
and where he pleased, only seemed the more 
to exasperate them. In the conversation, he 
incidentally claimed to be the Son of God; 
thus, as they justly regarded it, placing 
himself on an equality with Jehovah. To do 
this, was in their view blasphemy; and they 
sought with more earnestness than ever, for 
a secret opportunity to murder him; but his 
time was not yet come. 

It was in these circumstances, and during 
a conversation which now took place between 
him and the Jews, that he asserted more 
plainly than he had ever done before, his di- 
vine nature and character, showing that he 
held the eternal life and salvation of all men 
in his own hands; and that, if they wanted 
either, they must come to him for it, or at 
least, must seek for it through him. This the 
Jews doubtless thought to be high-handed 
blasphemy; and nothing, in all probability, 
7* 



78 TRAVELS OF 

but the general opinion of the people that he 
was a prophet, and therefore to be treated 
with some degree of open respect, prevented 
them from murdering him on the spot. It was 
in this conversation, also, that he appears to 
have first taught the great and glorious doc- 
trine of the resurrection of the body, to be a 
companion of the soul beyond the grave. 

Another instance of what they regarded as 
a violation of the Sabbath, occurred not long 
after the foregoing circumstances. The Sa- 
viour and his disciples were walking one Sab- 
bath, through the barley-fields* and his disci- 
ples, being hungry, plucked some of the ears 
of grain, and after rubbing them in their 
hands to separate the kernel, began to satis- 
fy their hunger with them. At this supposed 
renewal of Sabbath day abuses, the Jews 
complained outright, and to the Saviour's face. 
But he defended the conduct of his disciples, 
showing that the Son of man was Lord of the 
Sabbath, or could suspend its authority, and 
that under the existing circumstances the con- 

* The Bible, indeed, calls the fields through which they were 
passing corn-fields; but corn was the general name, among the 
Jews, for all sorts of grain of which bread was made, especially 
wheat and barley. In the present case, Dr, Doddridge supposes 
the grain was barley. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 79 

duct of his followers was perfectly correct. 
Though we have no reason to believe the 
Jews were satisfied with his defence, yet we 
do not hear that, as yet, any violence was 
attempted on his person. 

But now a new transaction took place. 
While he was walking about the province of 
Judea, teaching and preaching and healing 
the sick, as he was accustomed to do, they 
brought to him, one day, to be healed, a man 
whose hand was not only palsied, but greatly 
shrunk and withered. This, too, was on the 
Sabbath, and there was quite a number of 
Scribes and Pharisees watching to see how 
he kept the day. 

So when the palsied man was brought for- 
ward, they thought within themselves, Now 
we shall have a fine opportunity to test his 
determination about obeying the law respect- 
ing the Sabbath. They even ventured to 
propose to him the question whether the cur- 
ing of the sick on the Sabbath was lawful. 

Jesus, knowing what their most secret 
thoughts about him were, and how anxious 
they were to get something against him which 
they could take hold of, instead of making an 
immediate reply to their question, bade the 



80 TRAVELS OF 

man who wished to be healed, to stand up in 
the midst of them. He then went into a full 
argument on the nature of the subject, and 
showed them most clearly, not only that it was 
lawful for him to do good to the bodies and 
souls of men on the Sabbath day, but that 
in so doing he was going no farther, nor even 
so far, as they themselves were accustomed 
to do. They would not hesitate, he said, to 
rescue a domestic animal that had fallen into 
a pit on the Sabbath, rather than leave it to 
suffer and die there; and were we not justi- 
fied, he asked, in manifesting as strong a 
sympathy with human suffering, and being as 
prompt to relieve it, as the sufferings of the 
brute creation? 

There was no answering him, or getting 
away from the face of his arguments. The 
man was commanded to stretch forth his hand, 
and, at the word of the Saviour, it was made 
as whole as the other. 

And now it was that the Pharisees were 
more enraged than ever. Men, though si- 
lenced by argument, are not always satisfied. 
Nay, more; I have sometimes thought that 
the idea of being overcome in the argument, 
by wounding their pride, only tended to make 



OUR SAVIOUR. 81 

them more vexed, or angry with their oppo- 
nents. It is, therefore, by no means improb- 
able that this was one reason why the Phar- 
isees complained more now than ever that Je- 
sus was a Sabbath-breaker; and were more 
angry with him than ever on account of it. 
They were lc filled with madness," as the Bi- 
ble says, " and communed one with another 
what they might do to Jesus." They also 
stirred up the sect of Jews, called the Hero- 
dians, and endeavored to get them to assist 
iu bringing about his destruction. 

Is it not a wonder how he could escape all 
their plans and devices? But escape them 
he certainly did, in one way or another; for 
he was not killed in a long time afterward. 
In the present instance, he withdrew himself 
from Judea, and proceeding to the neighbor- 
hood of the sea of Galilee, went to preaching 
and healing there. Not that this province 
was so far off, but that they might have pur- 
sued and seized on him, even there; but I 
suppose they were not in the habit of doing 
such things out of their own province, and 
Galilee, as I have already told you, was not 
only a separate province from Judea, but 
there was even another province — Samaria — 
lying between them. 



82 T R A V E L S F 

But though they did not follow him, to seize 
him as a criminal, they actually did follow 
him, in great multitudes, even from Jerusalem 
and the other parts of Judea. More even 
than all this; great multitudes followed him 
from the region of Idumea, which was much 
farther off than Judea, and lay quite to the 
south and south-east of it; other multitudes 
from the countries eastward of the river Jor- 
dan, and not a few even from the cities of 
Tyre and Sidon which lay to the northward of 
Galilee, in Syria. Indeed so great was the 
throng, that he was obliged to have recourse 
to his former practice of getting into a ship, or 
fishing-boat, and after pushing it off from the 
shore a little, of sitting in it, while giving his 
instructions to the people. 

His habit of early rising for prayer, &.c, has 
already been mentioned. It was not far from 
this period of his ministry, that, according to 
the evangelist, he went, in one instance, even 
farther than this; he continued in prayer all 
night. Whether the meaning is that he 
prayed all night, however, or only that he 
was all night in a place or house of prayer, is 
not quite certain. The occasion was, at any 
rate, a remarkable one; whether he really 



OUR SAVIOUR. 83 

prayed all night or not. It is not probable 
that he would be out in the woods and fields 
all night, in any ordinary circumstances. 

But what was the remarkable occasion to 
which I have alluded? He was about to at- 
tend an ordination — a Christian ordination — 
the first of the kind which had ever been at- 
tended. It was the ordination of the twelve, 
who were his most constant disciples or fol- 
lowers, to be apostles. The Scripture says 
they were ordained that they might " be with 
him," and that he might lt send them forth to 
preach." 

Soon after their ordination they went into 
a house, as the Scripture expresses it, proba- 
bly to make the necessary arrangements for 
their future labors as missionaries. Perhaps 
Judas Iscariot was at this time set apart as 
their treasurer, or to carry the bag, as it is 
said; a most sad affair to a person of his cast 
of character. Handling money very often, in 
certain dispositions proves the means of devel- 
oping a love of money, even in those who be- 
fore cared very little about it. 

In this case all was done right, for it was 
done under the eye and direction of the Sa- 
viour himself. The disposition of Judas was 



84 TRAVELS OF 

probably had before, and it is not impossible 
that less evil would result to the community 
by exposing a man to temptation whose char- 
acter was already spoiled, than one who had 
hitherto kept himself pure. 

When all the arrangements were made, Je- 
sus and his apostles came down and stood in 
the plain, where he delivered to them quite a 
long sermon. It is so much like the Sermon 
on the Mount, or that recorded in the fifth, 
sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew, that 
many suppose it to have been the very same. 
Yet when we remember that the sermon men- 
tioned by Matthew was delivered on a moun- 
tain or hill, that it was evidently preached 
much earlier in his life, and was much longer 
than the one of which I am now speaking, is 
there not good reason for believing that the 
latter was quite a different discourse, or at 
least delivered on a very different occasion? 
You will find this second long sermon in the 
sixth chapter of Luke. 

Jesus now returned to Capernaum, his 
adopted home. Here, as before, he was soon 
met by the cry of distress. A certain centu- 
rion—a Roman officer, set over an hundred 
men — having a servant very sick and appa- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 85 

rently about to die, sent a deputation of Jew- 
ish elders to him, beseeching him to come 
and heal his sick servant. Jesus, according- 
ly, went with them. 

Before he came quite to the house, how- 
ever, the centurion sent out other friends to 
meet him, requesting him to heal the servant 
without coming in; alleging that he was 
unworthy to have the Saviour enter his 
house, especially as a word from his mouth 
would answer just as well. Jesus, perceiving 
his great faith, did not hesitate. Go your 
way, he said to those who came to meet him, 
as you have believed, so be it done unto you. 
The servant was immediately in a better 
state; and before the persons who met Jesus 
had arrived at the house, he had fully recov- 
ered. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Jesus journeys to Nain — Raises a young man to life there- 
Receives messengers from John the Baptist — Woes pronounced 
— The penitent woman and proud Pharisee. 

How long the Saviour remained at home, 
in Capernaum, before he made another long 
8 



86 TRAVELS OF 

excursion into Galilee, does not plainly appear. 
There is no reason, however, for believing 
that very much time could have elapsed. 
Such a person as he was could not be hid, 
even if he were to attempt to hide himself. 
One thing, however, is certain; he made 
many short excursions, not unlike some of 
those noticed in the preceding chapter. One 
of the most interesting of these was to Nain, 
a small place some fifteen or twenty miles 
south-west of Capernaum, a little to the south 
of Mount Tabor, where he performed one of 
the most stupendous miracles which the world 
had, at that time, ever witnessed. It was the 
very next day after he performed the miracle 
of healing the son of the centurion, mentioned 
in the last chapter. 

We are not told that he was sent for on this 
occasion; neither do I believe that he was. 
How, then, came he to make the journey? 
you may perhaps ask. How came he to reach 
the city just at the favorable moment for 
making such a glorious exhibition of his 
miraculous power? Was it a mere accident? 
Or did he, having all knowledge, as well as 
all power, go there because he knew all the 
circumstances of the distressed mother, for 
whose relief he performed the journey? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 87 

But to relate the story. As the Saviour 
in traveling along, accompanied by his apos- 
tles, approached the gate of the city to which 
he was going, he met a large crowd of people 
assembled at a funeral. It was the funeral of 
a young man, an only son; and his mother 
was a widow. Probably he was her only 
hope, as the staff and support of her old age. 
It is quite obvious from the affecting account 
of the case, as given by the evangelist Luke, 
that the circumstances were peculiarly dis- 
tressing. For £C when the Lord saw her " — 
the widowed mother — says the evangelist, 
" he had compassion on her." 

But how did he show his compassion? Was 
it expended in mere words? Or did he do 
something to prove that he really pitied her? 
Many people, with whom words are very 
abundant and cheap, will say a great deal 
about their sorrow for others, when they will 
not lift a finger to show by their works of 
charity or love that their sorrow is genuine or 
sincere. 

Such, we may be assured, was never the 
sorrow of our Saviour. He usually did some- 
thing to show his compassion for mankind, as 
well as to express his grief in words, or even 



88 TRAVELS OF 

in tears. His was an active sympathy that 
led him to do something. 

Do you say the young man was dead, and 
what, therefore, could he do? Yes, he was 
dead; but Jesus had power over death and 
the grave, as he proved most abundantly in 
the end. Indeed, he had but to speak the 
word — had he chosen to make the experiment, 
and had there been occasion for it — and all 
the dead would have been raised to life in an 
instant. But was he disposed to exercise this 
power while on earth, in any degree? Let 
us see. 

" And he came," says Luke, " and touched 
the bier: 55 that on which the body was sup- 
ported as it was borne along towards the 
grave; " and they that bare him stood still. 
And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, 
Arise. And he that was dead sat up and be- 
gan to speak. And he delivered him to his 
mother. 55 

What a most interesting scene was this, 
not only to the poor widowed mother, but to 
all present! As for the mother, though the 
evangelist does not attempt to describe her 
feelings, it seems as if she must have fainted 
with joy. Excessive joy not only produces 



OUR SAVIOUR. 89 

such effects, at times, but has been known 
even to produce instant death. 

The effects of such a sight on the spectators 
are more fully described. (e A great fear" 
came over them all; and no wonder. To see 
a dead man start up from the very bier on 
which they were carrying him to his grave, 
and begin to converse, as if in health, and to 
see him restored to the bosom of his afflicted 
family — who would not have been frightened ? 
I do not know that such an event had happened 
before, from the days of Elijah and Elisha. 

Concealment on the part of the Saviour 
now seemed no longer possible. It was re- 
ported every where, not only in all the prov- 
inces of Palestine, but even in the adjacent 
countries, that a man had been raised from 
the dead; and it was now more fully under- 
stood than ever before, that a " great proph- 
et" had risen up among them, and that God 
was visiting in mercy his people. 

Whether the Saviour returned to Caperna- 
um immediately after working this miracle, 
we do not know. The next event which is 
particularly recorded of him, is his reception 
and treatment of some messengers of John the 
Baptist. This man, though in prison, had 



90 TRAVELS OF 

been told by his disciples — who appear to 
have had the privilege of occasionally visiting 
him — what Jesus was doing, and either for 
his own information or for the sake of satisfy- 
ing his disciples respecting the real character 
of Christ, he had sent out two of them to 
make certain inquiries of him. 

With these messengers Jesus held quite a 
conference; but what was more satisfactory 
to them, as I have no doubt, he wrought many 
miracles before them, such as restoring to 
sight the blind, casting out evil spirits, and 
healing palsies, leprosies, and other diseases. 

This gave to the Saviour a fine opportunity 
after the messengers were departed, for 
explaining to the multitude around him the 
nature and character of John's mission, and 
the relation which it bore to his own. He also 
took occasion, from the comparison between 
John and himself, to draw r forth and present 
many lessons of moral and religious instruc- 
tion. 

It was not long after this, probably while 
Jesus remained in Galilee on this excursion — 
that he pronounced his woes on the cities 
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, because 
they still refused, as a general thing, to 
believe in him, and even dared to oppose him. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 91 

Chorazin and Bethsaida were small but 
interesting cities, lying on the western or 
rather on the north-western shore of the sea 
of Galilee; and Jesus, as it is believed, had 
not only spent some time there teaching and 
preaching, but had also wrought in them some 
of his more important and striking miracles. 

He also delivered to the multitude around 
him a short but most impressive discourse, 
after pronouncing the woes, accompanied by 
a prayer. In the discourse he took occasion 
to state, in few words, the mysterious nature 
of the Godhead, and to show that the doctrine 
of his own near relation to the Father, 
however difficult to be comprehended, is nev- 
ertheless true, and must be received. 

And now follows, in the seventh chapter of 
the gospel of Luke, a most affecting account 
of the conduct of a penitent woman. It was 
at the house of a Pharisee, by the name of 
Simon, who had invited Jesus to dinner. 
Some have supposed this story to be the same 
as that which Matthew relates, in his twenty- 
sixth chapter, but this cannot, as is most evi- 
dent, be a correct opinion. 

While Jesus was sitting or rather reclining 
at dinner, as was the eastern method of 



92 TRAVELS OF 

receiving meals, a woman of the city came 
behind him, and after washing his feet with 
tears and wiping them with her hair, she 
poured upon them a box of costly ointment. 
This Simon disliked very much; and he told 
the Saviour so. From this circumstance, 
Jesus took the opportunity of giving the proud 
Pharisee much valuable instruction. He 
also forgave the poor woman her sins, and 
bade her go home, in peace. 

It was not Simon alone, however, to whom 
Jesus gave offence, on this occasion. Some 
of the guests were still more offended, es- 
pecially when he forgave the woman her sins. 
Jesus, however, went forward in the work of 
his mission, their clamors and complaints to 
the contrary notwithstanding. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 93 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Jesus again travels through Galilee— His companions — The 
crowds — Trouble from the Pharisees — A grand moral lesson 
inculcated — His Parables — Attempt to cross the Galilean sea 
— Storm — Their peril — Rescue by Jesus — They land near Gada- 
ra — The demoniac — Jesus re-crosses the sea, and returns to 
Capernaum — Dines with Matthew — Heals a woman who had 
been sick twelve years — Restores to life the daughter of Jairus 
— Restores sight to the blind — Was Jesus a man of sorrows? — 
Why was he so. 

Our Saviour now made a second tour 
through Galilee. Luke says in the first verse 
of the seventh chapter of his gospel, that he 
went through every city and village. It is 
difficult to conceive how he could have time 
in one year, or part of one year, to go through 
every city of Galilee, and yet stop long enough 
to do the people very much good; and yet it 
appears from the record, that such was the 
fact. Perhaps, Josephus, the Jewish histori- 
an, whose opinion I have mentioned elsewhere, 
may have been a little mistaken after all as to 
the number, size, &c, of the Galilean cities; 
though there can be no doubt that the whole 
province was very populous. 

In the excursion of which I am now speak- 
ing, the Saviour was not only accompanied 



94 TRAVELS OF 

by his twelve apostles, but also by many oth- 
er persons, some of them persons of distinc- 
tion; and a number of them females. Among 
these last was Joanna, the wife of Herod's 
steward, and Mary Magdalene, or Mary of 
the city of Magdala; the latter of whom he 
had dispossessed of seven demons or devils. 
Another person, spoken of as being in the 
company, was Susanna, but there were also 
many more whose names are not given. 

The business of these female friends dur- 
ing the long tour of Jesus through Galilee, 
seems, as stated by the evangelist, to have 
been to minister to him of their substance. 
With their aid, he and his twelve apostles 
could devote themselves to their labors with 
less anxiety than otherwise. Or they may 
have attended him principally for the purpose 
of hearing his instructions, and witnessing 
his miracles; for it does not seem to have 
been expected of them that they would attempt 
to teach publicly. 

Again the multitude which followed him 
began to press upon him with such force as 
almost to obstruct his passage; and so great 
was the work of preaching and healing which 
devolved upon him, that, notwithstanding the 



OUR SAVIOUR. 95 

assistance which was afforded them, neither 
he nor his apostles seemed to find time to 
take their accustomed meals. So zealously 
in fact, did he pursue his work, and so little 
did he attend to the wants of his animal frame, 
as regards eating, drinking, sleeping, Sec, that 
some of his friends began to think him already 
deranged, or at least in great danger of be- 
coming so. 

One trait in the Saviour's character is par- 
ticularly worthy of remark in this place; 
which is, that though he was willing to subject 
himself to the annoyance of the crowds for 
the sake of doing good, he was naturally of a 
quiet and retiring spirit. "He always with- 
drew at once," says Abbott, in his Corner 
Stone, "from the crowd, when his work was 
done. He sought solitude, he shrunk from 
observation; in fact, almost the only enjoy- 
ment which he seemed really to love, was his 
lonely ramble at midnight for rest and prayer. 
He even spent whole nights thus, as we are 
told by the evangelists. And it is not surpri- 
sing, that after the heated crowds and exhaust- 
ing labors of the day, he should love to retire 
to silence and seclusion, to enjoy the cool and 
balmy air, the refreshing stillness and all the 



96 TRAVELS or 

beauties and glories of midnight, among the 
solitudes of the Galilean hills; — to find there 
happy communion with his Father, and to 
gather fresh strength for the labors and trials 
that yet remained." 

But now arose new trouble with the Phar- 
isees. Jesus having cast out an evil spirit, 
some of the Pharisees and Scribes who were 
present charged him with being possessed by 
a demon himself. This charge he repelled, 
however, in a course of reasoning which they 
could neither gainsay nor resist. 

Again the Pharisees and Scribes demanded 
of him a miracle in proof of the authenticity 
of his mission — a sign from heaven; as they 
called it. Fully aware that the request was 
made as much to gratify curiosity as for any 
other purpose, he refused to grant it. "An 
evil and adulterous generation," said he, 
"seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign 
be given it but the sign of Jonas the prophet." 

As he continued his discourse to the Scribes 
and Pharisees in the great central opening 
or court of the house where he was, word 
was sent him that his mother and brethren 
were without in the street and wished to speak 



OUR SAVIOUR. 97 

with him.* Here, perhaps you will say, was 
a fine opportunity to test the goodness of his 
heart. Yes, it was indeed so; but the result 
was not exactly what might, at first thought, 
by many be expected. 

Instead of rushing forth to embrace them, 
which he might naturally be inclined to do, he 
seizes the golden opportunity to convey to the 
vast multitude around him a lesson of be- 
nevolence, self-sacrifice, and devoted piety. 
" Who is my mother?" said he, and "who 
are my brethren?" Then, looking round in 
various directions upon the dense crowd of 
people, he added; "Behold my mother and 
my brethren! For whosoever shall do the 
will of my Father which is in heaven, the 
same is my brother, and sister, and mother." 

Young reader, how much there is to be 
learned from this single incident in the life of 
the Saviour! As in the case of his delay in 
the temple, there was, after all, no real evi- 
dence of any want of filial affection, so it was 



* It appears that the friends of Jesus having, from time to time, 
heard that he was preaching so near them, took that opportunity 
to call on him, both to converse with him and to hear him preach. 
I think it not unlikely that Joseph his father was by this time 
either dead, or so decrepid that he could not come to see him, 
with the rest. 

9 



98 TRAVELS OF 

in the present instance. Jesus did not thus 
speak to make light of the duties he owed to 
his earthly parents and friends, but to convey 
in a striking manner, an important moral 
lesson. It was, as if he had said; " Though 
the ties of earthly affection bind me as much 
as they do others, and though I feel the 
strongest desires to go forth to the embrace of 
those whom I hold dear, yet, after all, my 
business is chiefly with you. My meat and 
my drink is to finish the work of him that sent 
me; and to lead you all to the love and 
service of God. All mankind are brethren— 
my brethren — all are children of one common 
Parent. But especially are you my friends — 
my brethren and my parents — if you do what 
I command you to do. To effect the salvation 
of men, I am ready to forego every earthly 
desire, and every earthly attachment. I 
forego Nazareth; I forego the pleasures of 
home and of fixed society every where; and I 
give myself over to perpetual exile; I forego, 
at this moment, the pleasure of rushing forth 
to the embrace of friends, that I may devote 
myself further to you. For whosoever shall 
do the will of my Father who is in heaven, 
even though he were the meanest individual 



OUR SAVIOUR. 99 

of this whole crowd, the same is my brother, 
and sister, and mother. 

In another instance — I believe it was some- 
time afterward — he expressed this same sen- 
timent, of comparative disregard to earthly 
parents in another and a very different manner; 
a manner which has sometimes given great 
offence to those who do not seem to under- 
stand him. "If any man," said he, "will 
come after me, and hate not father and moth- 
er, he cannot be my disciple." By hating his 
relatives, there is not the slightest reason for 
believing he meant any thing more than to 
overlook them, and deny ourselves the pleas- 
ure of their society, when a greater and more 
glorious object is in view, and likely, by a 
little effort, to be obtained. 

We have no reason to believe, that the 
mother and brethren of the Saviour loved him 
any the less on account of his devotion (thus 
expressed) to the eternal salvation of others, 
even the whole human race. On the contrary, 
if they were the true children of God, they 
must have loved him the better for it. Every 
one who bears the image of God, loves every 
other individual of the same description, in 
proportion to the exactness of the resemblance 
he bears to that image. 



100 TRAVELS OF 

We have abundant reason, however, for 
believing that the Saviour did not spend a 
large amount of time, in visiting with his 
friends; for on the same day that the events 
of which I have been speaking occurred, he 
is said to have gone out of the house, and to 
have sat and taught again by the sea-side: 
taking his usual position in a boat, while the 
whole multitude stood on the shore. 

It was on this occasion that he put forth the 
famous parable of the sower; and gave, first 
to his apostles, and afterward to the surround- 
ing multitude, his explanations. Several oth- 
er parables were also spoken, at the same 
time; among which were the parable of the 
treasure hid in a field; of the merchant seek- 
ing goodly pearls; and of the fisherman with 
his net, gathering in fish of every kind. 

When these parables were finished, with 
the accompanying remarks and explanations, 
the Saviour attempted to go ashore and pro- 
ceed along the road, but the crowd was so 
great that it was quite impossible. In this 
condition, although it was now nearly night, 
he proposed to those about him to get rid of 
the multitude by crossing to the east side of 
the lake. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 101 

It was in these circumstances, and just as 
Jesus was going on board, that a scribe came 
to him and declared his determination to fol- 
low him wherever he went; and it was to this 
scribe that the Saviour made the reply re- 
specting his own poverty; "The foxes have 
holes, and the birds of the air have nests; 
but the Son of man hath not where to lay his 
head." It was at this time, also, that, when 
he requested one who professed to be a disci- 
ple to go with him, the latter begged permis- 
sion to go first and bury his father. We are 
not told that either of them ever beeame his 
hearty followers. The Saviour wishes for 
disciples who are ready to do what he requires, 
without hesitation, and without reserve. 

A boat being made ready for crossing the 
little Galilean sea, the Saviour and his disci- 
ples entered it, and proceeded on their jour- 
ney. The boat was a large one, and would 
hold quite a number of passengers. They 
were also accompanied by many of the crowd 
in a number of smaller boats. 

This sea or lake of Galilee, on which our 

Saviour now was, is formed as follows. The 

river Jordan, rising in Mount Lebanon in 

Syria, and passing through a very small lake 

9* 



102 TRAVELS OF 

called lake Meron, at the distance of about 
sixty or seventy miles from its source, falls 
into the lake or sea of Galilee. This is six- 
teen miles long, and has an average breadth, 
from east to west, of about six miles. Its 
outlet is a continuation of the river Jordan, 
which, after running perhaps seventy or eighty 
miles farther, flows into the Dead Sea. 

I have already informed you that it was 
nearly night, when our Saviour concluded 
to take passage across the sea. By the time 
they were fairly out in the middle of the water, 
it was probably dark. Exhausted by the labors 
of the day,- — for so much speaking, especially 
to a great multitude, is very fatiguing indeed, 
— our Saviour procured a pillow and reclined 
at the hinder part of the boat, where he soon 
fell asleep. 

Small as this little inland sea of Galilee is, 
it is sometimes quite rough. It was becom- 
ing so now, though calm, perhaps, when they 
started. It grew more and more rough, every 
moment. Finally it blew quite a tempest. 
In vain did they wish themselves across; 
they were still at a considerable distance from 
the shore. The darkness, too, in all probabil- 
ity, was very great. 



OUR SAVIOUR, 103 

The storm became at length so violent, that 
the very boatmen were alarmed for their safe- 
ty. The waves beat at times completely over 
their little bark, and were fast filling it. 
Wondering, no doubt, that the Saviour could 
sleep at such a time and in- danger so immi- 
nent, and supposing, perhaps, that he could 
do something, either miraculously or other- 
wise, to rescue them from their peril, they 
awoke him, gently reproaching him, at the 
same time, as if he were sleeping on regard- 
less of their danger. " Carest thou not, 
Master," they said, (( that we perish? Lord, 
save us?" 

The only reply he made to their reproaches 
was, fc Why are ye so fearful? Where is 
your faith?" There was indeed, to all human 
appearance, great danger. Not so, however, 
in reality. He who holds the winds in his 
grasp could still the little sea of Galilee in a 
moment, when the time should come for him 
to put forth his almighty power. 

Man's extremity has sometimes been said 
to be God's opportunity. Whether the say- 
ing is correct or not, as a general rule, it was 
certainly so in the present instance. Not 
only the boatmen but the apostles also, seve- 



104 TRAVELS OF 

ral of whom had been bred to the sea, were 
almost in despair. One raj of hope, indeed, 
remained. This was in the assistance of the 
Saviour. 

The time for him to interpose had at length 
arrived. " Peace, be still!" said he; but 
that was all. No more was said or needed. In 
an instant the wind was hushed; the agitation 
of the waters began to subside, and, in a little 
while, there was a perfect calm. 

This was astonishing to them all; but es- 
pecially to the boatmen. They were greatly 
amazed, and scarcely knew what to think of 
it. "What manner of man is this," they 
said, "that he commandeth even the winds 
and the sea, and they obey him!" 

The storm and the danger over, and the 
darkness somewhat diminished, they found 
no difficulty in effecting a landing on the 
eastern shore of the sea, whither they were 
bound. They were now in the country of 
the Gadarenes and Gergesenes; being part of 
a tract of land which fell to the. lot of half the 
tribe of Manasseh, and which was sometimes 
called Trachonitis. 

The Saviour, though he had escaped from 
one multitude, was not destined to be long 



OUR SAVIOUR. 105 

alone. No sooner was it day,* and he was 
fairly on shore, than he was met by two men 
possessed by demons, coming out of the sep- 
ulchres, which were, as it is conjectured, in 
a burying-place, near the city, and appear- 
ing so fierce as to frighten every one whom 
they approached. One of them, as it appears, 
was a great deal worse than the others. So 
perfectly unmanageable was he, that even 
fetters and chains could not be made to hold 
him. He wore no clothes, nor would he dwell 
in any house, by night or by day. The moun- 
tains or the sepulchres were his favorite places 
of resort; but even there he was never quiet 
a moment; and if he had nothing else to do, 
he was continually torturing himself by cut- 
ting or lacerating his flesh with sharp stones. 
These two men, thus afflicted, the Saviour 
was called to encounter. They were not 
long troublesome, however. They were soon 
dispossessed. The evil spirits which harassed 
them, especially one of them, were driven 



* The evangelist does not say it was now day, neither are we 
told that it was quite dark when they crossed the sea. I have 
in this respect, and for once, given the reins to my own imagina- 
tion. What I have imagined, however, seems to me quite prob- 
able, if not almost certain. N 



106 TRAVELS OF 

out; and suffered to occupy the bodies of a 
herd of two hundred swine near by, the story 
of which, in the fifth chapter of Mark, you 
have all doubtless read, and to which I must 
refer you for particulars. The people of that 
region — the Gadarenes — were excessively 
frightened when the news of the miracle was 
spread among them, and they came together 
almost in a mass, and begged him to leave the 
country. 

I say they were all frightened; but there 
was one exception. The man who had been 
so sadly afflicted, and whom Jesus had so 
wonderfully restored, was exceedingly delight- 
ed with the change in his condition, and asked 
permission of the Saviour to remain with him, 
but it was not thought expedient. On the 
contrary, Jesus sent him back to his house 
and friends. The man, however, could not be 
satisfied with this. He was determined to do 
something; and accordingly began to travel 
up and down the country and relate the story 
of the w r onderful cure which had been wrought 
on him. He not only spread the strange in- 
telligence through his native city, Gadara, 
but also through a group of ten cities, lying 
near the southern extremity of the sea of Gal- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 107 

ilee, and called by the general name of De- 
capolis. 

The Saviour did not remain long in the 
region of Gadara, but complied at once with 
the request of the people, that he would leave 
them. A boat was at hand, and, entering it, 
he soon found himself in his own city, Caper- 
naum. 

Here, as soon as he landed, he was again 
thronged. Multitudes, as it seems, had never 
yet returned home since his departure; and 
other multitudes had collected, to hear him 
and witness his miracles. Jesus, however, 
left them for a short time, to attend a feast at 
the house of Matthew, one of his apostles; 
for Matthew had invited not only his fellow- 
apostles, but also, as a matter of course, his 
Lord and Master. 

While they were at dinner, a great number 
of publicans also came in and sat down, hav- 
ing probably been invited by Matthew, as his 
old friends and associates in the office of tax- 
gathering. As these publicans had the repu- 
tation of being bad men — and as some of them, 
no doubt, were, for they are often called sin- 
ners, or are at least closely associated with 
them in the New Testament — the Scribes and 



10S TRAVELS OF 

Pharisees, ever on the watch, made a great 
complaint to the apostles against the Saviour's 
conduct. How is it, said they, that he eat- 
eth and drinketh with publicans and sinners! 

To these complaints, which the Saviour 
overheard, he made a long but patient reply, 
explaining the reason of his conduct, and en- 
deavoring to show the complainants that it 
was sinners whom he came into the world to 
save; that good men, if there were any such, 
were not in perishing need of his instructions. 

While he was continuing his discourse at 
Matthew's table, and the crowd, as I suppose, 
at the door, waiting for him to come out, Jair- 
us, a ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum, 
came in, and begged the Saviour to go with 
him to his house, and see his daughter, about 
twelve years of age, who appeared to be dy- 
ing. Jesus complied at once with his request, 
and, accompanied by his apostles, as well as 
followed by a numerous crowd of people, he 
proceeded towards Jairus's house. 

As he was going along, however, surround- 
ed and hardly pressed by the multitudej a 
poor woman, who had been afflicted with a 
troublesome disease for twelve years, which 
none of the physicians of that region could cure, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 109 

though she had spent all her property on them 
and their medicine, believing that if she could 
but get to the Saviour and touch his clothes 
she should recover, found means to effect an 
opening through the dense crowd, and just 
to touch the border of his outside garment; 
when the event which she expected, actually 
happened. In an instant the hemorrhage or 
flux, with which she had been so long afflicted, 
wholly ceased, and she felt perfectly well. 

Though the Saviour did not see her, he 
knew, of course, what had happened; and 
willing to exhibit the poor woman's faith as 
an example to the spectators, he turned round 
and inquired who touched his clothes, — to 
which Peter replied — not knowing, perhaps, 
what had actually taken place — that it was 
only the multitude as they crowded along that 
happened to hit him; seeming not a little sur- 
prised that the Saviour should notice so par- 
ticularly what must be happening almost every 
moment. But Jesus, not satisfied with the 
reply, continued his search, and directing 
his eye at length to the woman herself, she 
came up to him, and confessed what she had 
done, and gave, in full, the reason why she had 
taken so much liberty. S( Daughter," said the 
10 



110 TRAVELS OF 

Saviour, before them all, "be of good comfort; 
thy faith hath made thee whole ; go in peace and 
be whole of thy plague." 

All this, and the pressure of the crowd, 
caused delay, and in the mean time the daugh- 
ter of Jairus had expired. Some of the peo- 
ple of the house, coming out, observed that it 
was unnecessary to trouble the Saviour any 
farther, as the young woman was dead. But 
Jesus, who heard it, encouraged Jairus not to 
lose his faith; and they proceeded together to 
the house. 

When they arrived, Jesus went immediately 
in, but suffered nobody to go in with him, 
except Peter, James and John, and the parents. 
There were, indeed, many persons already in 
the house, among whom were the near rela- 
tives of the deceased, and the customary 
musicians.* But these were soon directed to 

* Not only the Jews, but many other nations, made use of mu- 
sic, either vocal or instrumental, or both, on occasions like this. 
The musicians— minstrels they are often called in the Bible — 
were, I believe , usually hired. Several kinds of instruments were 
used, but the flute was among the more common at the death of 
children. The object was to soothe the feelings of the mourners, 
and prevent their grief from becoming excessive. A worthy ob- 
ject, whenever there is need of it: but it is seldom,! believe, 
in our day that it is so. God calls us to grieve, at the death of 
friends ; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made 
better. 



OUR SAVIOUR. Ill 

go out, except the persons whom I have just 
mentioned; that is, just enough for witnesses. 
With these witnesses he entered the room 
where the dead body lay, and taking hold of 
one of the hands of the deceased woman, bade 
her arise. In an instant she revived, rose up, 
and walked; and was able to receive suste- 
nance. 

Notwithstanding the faith of the father in 
the Saviour's power to heal the sick, it does 
not appear that he had the least idea, when he 
first went in pursuit of him, that he could 
raise the dead; for if so, why should he have 
been greatly astonished, as the evangelist says 
both he and his wife were? And yet, one 
would think he must have heard of the miracle 
at Nain. 

Be this, however, as it may, they were 
almost overjoyed at what had happened, and 
though Jesus, with his usual modesty, asked 
them to conceal the event, they could not de- 
ny themselves the pleasure of relating it, 
wherever they were, till it was spread abroad 
through all the country. 

Jesus now left the house of Jairus, to go, 
as I suppose, to his own lodgings. As he 
went along, he was not only followed by a 



112 TRAVELS OF 

crowd as usual, but he was particularly beset 
by two blind men, crying out to him, and 
saying, " Son of David, have mercy on us." 

When he was come into the house to which 
he was going, the blind men followed him in, 
and Jesus made inquiries of them respecting 
their faith. He asked them, especially, if 
they fully believed he was able to grant the 
favor which they asked; and finding they did 
so, he proceeded to grant it. 

And what was the process? Nothing more, 
to be sure, than simply to touch their eyes, 
and say, " According to your faith, be it done 
unto you." As soon as these words were 
uttered, their sight was restored to them, and 
they went forth, proclaiming to the world the 
miracle. 

A man was next brought to him, who was 
not only possessed by an evil spirit, but was 
dumb. A word only from the Saviour was 
necessary; for in an instant his speech came 
to him, and he was completely rescued and 
restored. This miracle, as was usually the 
case in these circumstances, excited the 
amazement of people generally, though it 
roused the opposition of the Scribes and Phar- 
isees. The latter charged him with casting 



OUR SAVIOUR. 113 

out the demons or devils, by the assistance of 
Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. 

The Bible says, in the fifty-third chapter of 
Isaiah, that the Saviour was a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief; and who that reads 
over his history, does not perceive, that if 
severe, and long continued labors, many cares, 
and meeting with perpetual hatred and oppo- 
sition tend to make a person sorrowful, Jesus 
must have been a man of sorrows indeed. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Saviour goes to Nazareth — Boldly teaches in the Synagogues 
— Goes through other parts — The apostles are to be sent out as 
missionaries— The Saviour's instructions and directions — They 
go forth — Jesus follows them at a distance— Death of John the 
Baptist — The apostles return from their mission. 

Jesus now left Capernaum and proceeding 

westward, came to Nazareth, his native city. 

In this tour, as in most others, v/hich had 

hitherto been made, the apostles accompanied 

him. Whether he expected the people of 

Nazareth had forgotten their rage against 

him, or whether he was determined to brave 

the storm again, if it became necessary, is 

difficult for us to conjecture. 

10* 



114 TRAVELS OF 

When the Sabbath had arrived, he again 
entered boldly into the synagogue, and when 
an opportunity offered, he did not hesitate to 
teach those who were present. They were 
astonished at the wisdom which he manifested, 
and at his mighty power. "Is not this the 
carpenter's son?" they said. "Is not his moth- 
er called Mary ? and his brethren James, and 
Joses, and Simon and Judas? And his sis- 
ters, are they not all here with us? Whence, 
then, hath this man all these things?" 

So perplexed were the multitude at Naza- 
reth, to reconcile such wisdom and power 
with so humble an origin, that they derived 
very little benefit from his public instructions 
or his miracles. As to the latter, he only 
performed a very few while in Nazareth at 
this time; partly because they had no confi- 
dence in him, but partly also, as I suppose, be- 
cause Nazareth and its immediate vicinity 
were in general uncommonly healthy. 

When Jesus found he could do but little in 
Nazareth, on account of their unbelief and 
the consequent stupidity which prevailed there, 
he left the place, and commenced another tour 
through the province. The Bible account of 
this tour, though it must have been one of 



OUR SAVIOUR. 115 

many months, is in few words. It is as fol- 
lows. 

"And he went round about the cities and 
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and 
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and 
healing every sickness, and every disease 
among the people." 

How short an account of the travels of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and his twelve 
apostles — and a nobler band of men, of the 
same number, never lived or walked — through 
a country embracing millions of inhabitants, 
and hundreds of cities! Why, such a mission- 
ary tour, by thirteen missionaries, on foot, 
and extending through a period of several 
months — their adventures, conversations, lec- 
turing, preaching, cures of the sick, and their 
other miracles — would embrace more of inter- 
est than a dozen of some of our modern books 
of travel. Yet the whole is comprised within 
the short space of three or four lines! 

There is, however, an item or two more 
recorded — not of the journey, but in relation 
to certain reflections which the journey served 
to elicit, in the Saviour's mind. He saw the 
multitudes following him about, and excited 
by his native compassion at their needy, per- 



116 TRAVELS OF 

ishing condition, scattered abroad as sheep 
without a shepherd, he set himself to devise 
means for their relief. 

The first means to which his mind turned — 
that which should always be attended to first, 
when any great work is to be accomplished, 
or any great want to be provided for — was 
prayer. In this he expects his apostles at 
once to engage. " The harvest truly is plen- 
teous," said he, "but the laborers are few. 
Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest 
that he will send forth laborers into his har- 
vest." 

But though the work was to be commenced 
with prayer, it did not end with it. Prayer 
should be accompanied by effort. Jesus now 
began to develop the rest of his plan — the 
means he had selected for accomplishing his 
purposes. It was to send out his apostles, 
two by two, on separate missionary excursions 
through all parts of the country. They had 
been long enough with him, by this time, to 
know something of his purposes, to learn 
something of his manner of teaching, and to 
imbibe much of his spirit. 

So calling them together, he proceeded to 
prepare them for the mission. The first part 



OUR SAVIOUR. 117 

of this preparation was to empower them to 
work miracles; to cast out evil or unclean 
spirits, cure diseases, &c. The second was 
to give them particular instructions where to 
go, how to proceed, and what to teach. The 
third was to give directions in regard to their 
support. 

They were allowed and required to go into 
the various cities of Israel, that is, as some 
understand it, into the provinces of Galilee 
and Judea; but they were not allowed to go 
among the Samaritans, or into Syria, Idumea, 
Arabia and other adjoining countries — whose 
inhabitants were called Gentiles; for, though 
Christ had in one instance condescended to 
teach the Samaritans, and in many instances 
to cure the Gentiles, the set time to favor 
either the Samaritan or the Gentile world in 
any considerable degree, had not yet arrived. 

It is supposed by some, as I have already 
observed, that they were permitted to go any 
where in Judea or Galilee; but I am strong- 
ly inclined to believe that whatever might 
have been the intention of the Saviour re- 
specting them, they did not actually go out 
of Galilee, but spent their time in that prov- 
ince. 



118 T RAVE L S OF 

The slender preparation, in another respect, 
they were required to make, is surprising. 
They were to go forth without provision, and 
to have none provided beforehand at the pub- 
lic houses or cities through which they were 
to pass. Neither were they to take any mon- 
ey with them to pay their expenses; nor but 
one suit of clothes. They were to depend, 
almost solely, on the charity — justice rather — 
of the people among whom they traveled. 
" The workman," said the Saviour, " is worthy 
of his meat." Nor do they seem to have 
been allowed to carry or use any weapons of 
offence or defence. They were to be wise as 
serpents and harmless as doves; but they 
would not have appeared very dove-like, had 
they been armed with swords or other war- 
like weapons. 

But the particular instructions which were 
given them, though curious and interesting, 
are too numerous to be mentioned here. 
Suffice it to say, that they went out and fol- 
lowed, to the best of their ability, the Sa- 
viour's directions, preaching every where the 
glad tidings of the kingdom of God, and urg- 
ing people, by repentance and faith in Christ, 
- — who was to follow them — to enter it. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 119 

When the twelve were gone forth, Jesus 
followed them at a distance, preaching, teach- 
ing and healing in the cities of Galilee — prob- 
ably in the very cities which the apostles had 
just passed through before him. Thus would 
they prepare the way for his coming, and open 
a door, humanly speaking, for his success. 

It was, probably, while Jesus was on this 
tour that he heard of the death of John the 
Baptist. He had long before been impris- 
oned, as I have already told you. Finally, 
however, at the order of Herod he had been 
wickedly beheaded. His head had been taken 
away; but his body was left to his disciples, 
who buried it and then went into Galilee and 
informed Jesus what had happened. 

After some time had elapsed, the apostles 
returned from their mission and gave to the 
Saviour a full account of their teaching, 
preaching and working miracles; and, as far 
as they knew what it was, of their success. 
It must have been an interesting and joyful 
meeting. 



120 TRAVELS OF 



CHAPTER X. 

Jesus is still oppressed by the crowd — Leaves them, and crosses 
the sea to a desert near Bethsaida— Is followed — His instruc- 
tions — the people hungry — Jesus feeds them miraculously — 
They attempt to make him a king — To avoid this he resolves 
to return to Capernaum. 

The news of what Jesus and his apostles 
were doing reached Herod about this time, 
and he was quite anxious to know more about 
them. He was particularly anxious to see 
the Saviour. Of this anxiety Jesus had re- 
ceived information about the time of the re- 
turn of the apostles. On this account, but still 
more, perhaps, on account of the crowd, and 
to give the apostles a little while to rest, he 
proposed to them to retire from the public 
gaze and from the public persecution, too, to 
a wild, unfrequented place, or, as it was then 
called, a desert; and to this they cheerfully 
assented. 

But whither could they go to escape the 
multitude ? Entering a boat, they crossed 
the sea of Galilee, and proceeded to a desert 
which lay near the city of Bethsaida. Now 
Bethsaida, though on the east side of the sea, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 121 

was just at the north end of it, and it was 
very little farther from Capernaum to that 
place by land than it was by water. 

Jesus and his disciples, though they were 
easily separated from the crowd by getting into 
a boat, were not separated from them any con- 
siderable time. Observing the direction of the 
boat, and judging, perhaps, that he would stop 
at Bethsaida, or near it, the multitude followed 
him by land around the north end of the sea. 
It was four miles to Bethsaida by water, and 
it may have been about five by land, certainly 
not more. It was not difficult, therefore, if 
they made great haste to get there before the 
boat, which, as we are informed, they actually 
did. 

Jesus always full of compassion, could not 
but be greatly moved at the anxiety of the 
multitudes to see and hear him. He had not 
the heart, therefore, to order them away from 
his presence, or to escape miraculously, or 
by further flight. Accordingly he consented 
to instruct them a little longer. 

In order to do this, however, with most ef- 
fect, he went up to the top of a hill or moun- 
tain, and there with his disciples sat down, 
while the multitudes again gathered round 
11 



122 TRAVELS OF 

them. It was, indeed, a pleasant season for 
instruction out of doors, or under the trees, 
as it was probably late in March; and the 
spring in that region is at this time very far 
advanced. Here he continued his instruc- 
tions till it was nearly night. 

When the day drew to a close, the apostles 
reminded the Saviour that as there was nei- 
ther provision nor lodging there for the mul- 
titudes, it might be well to dismiss them, and 
let them go either to their home, or to some 
other place where they could be accommo- 
dated. 

But the people were already hungry, and 
Jesus, who knew all things, perfectly under- 
stood it, and forthwith began to contrive for 
their relief. Turning to Philip, he asked him 
in what way bread could be procured. Philip 
observed that it would take at least two hun- 
dred pence worth to give them all but a mor- 
sel, as it were, apiece. 

Reader, have you ever thought what a multi- 
tude this must have been, from the fact here 
mentioned in regard to the bread ? A penny was 
equal to about fourteen cents; therefore two 
hundred pence would be twenty-eight dollars. 
Now if money was worth, at that time, about 



OUR SAVIOUR. 123 

ten times as much as it now is, or, in other 
words, would buy about ten times as much — 
which I consider as very probable, and if 
bread is reckoned at four cents a pound, then 
twenty-eight dollars would buy about seven 
thousand pounds of bread. Yet this bread, 
could it have been obtained and divided among 
the many thousand persons present — for there 
were five thousand men, besides the women 
and children — would, in all probability, have 
given no more than a good substantial meal to 
each. But the two hundred pence were not 
to be employed for this purpose, even if Ju- 
das, the treasurer, had so much money in his 
hands, and if so much bread were to be had. 
A miracle had been resolved on by the Sa- 
viour, and a miracle was actually accom- 
plished. 

He first assured Philip that it was unnec- 
essary for the people to go away without their 
supper, and requested him to make immediate 
provision to supply them. Philip, not at once 
comprehending his meaning, wished to know 
how it was to be done. " Shall we go and 
buy two hundred pennyworth of bread for 
them?" he now inquired. Jesus asked how 
much provision there was in the company. 



124 TRAVELS OF 

Andrew replied, saying that there was a lad 
present who had five barley loaves and two 
small fishes; " but what are they," said he, 
" among so many?"* 

Jesus commanded them to be brought to 
him. Then causing the whole multitude to 
be formed into rows, some by fifty in a row, 
and some an hundred, he required them to sit 
down on the grass, and receive what should 
be distributed to them. When they were 
set down, he asked the blessing of heaven 
upon the loaves and fishes, and then, having 
broken up the loaves, he directed his apostles 
to distribute them among the multitude. 

While he was breaking the bread, or while 
they were distributing it — for we know not, of 
course, precisely when it was done — the Sa- 
viour, by his miraculous power, had so in- 
creased its quantity, that, instead of being a 
scanty supply for them, it fed the whole mul- 
titude, in the most liberal manner, and they 
even had some of it left. Some, did I say? 
They had more left, in fact — much more — than 



* A twenty-fifth part of an ounce, perhaps, to each — the wo- 
men and children not included ! A morsel as large as a good 
sized pea, or if there were as many women and children as men, 
not more than half as much. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 125 

they had when they began the meal; for, in- 
stead of five loaves, they had twelve baskets 
full of fragments of the bread and of the fish. 
Of course, we do not know the size of these 
baskets; but we know that any ordinary bas- 
kets used to collect fragments of bread and 
other food would hold more than a loaf of 
bread each; and yet there were many more 
baskets than loaves. 

A trouble now arose. Some of those who 
had witnessed the miracle of the loaves and 
fishes, being assured that Jesus was the great 
Messiah, who had so long been expected to 
come and deliver and rule the Jewish nation, 
were for laying hold of him and compelling 
him to be their king, whether he was willing 
to be so or not. Jesus, on the contrary, was 
determined to avoid such a result to the ut- 
most. The best way to do this, humanly 
speaking, was to return to Capernaum. 

Before he returned, however, he wished to 
send the multitude away. So he requested 
his apostles to get into a boat and cross the 
creek or bay which separated the desert in 
which he now was, from the city of Bethsaida, 
at which place he would join them. The 
apostles therefore proceeded to do as they 
were commanded. 11* 



126 TRAVELS OF 



CHAPTER XL 

Jesus on the mountain at prayer — The apostles driven out to sea 
— Jesus walks to them on the water— Peter attempts to come 
to him — The consequences. 

When the apostles were gone and the mul- 
titude had retired, and the shades of night 
had begun to appear, Jesus, as was his cus- 
tom, retired a little way to a hill or mountain 
for prayer; where, as it afterwards appears, 
he must have spent several hours, or, as some 
suppose, the greater part of the night. 

But where were the apostles all this time? 
Had they anchored their boat at Bethsaida, 
and were they waiting for him there? It 
seems, on the contrary, that in attempting to 
get over the small body of water which lay 
between the desert where the miracle was 
wrought and the city, they had been driven 
out to sea by a contrary wind, and that, instead 
of getting towards Bethsaida, they were now 
being driven towards Capernaum on the oppo- 
site side of the sea. This must have been a 
great trial to them, as Jesus was not with 
them, and they probably knew not where he 



OUR SAVIOUR. 127 

was. True the distance by land was not 
great, and he could walk thither; but as he 
was expected to overtake them at Bethsaida, 
they probably concluded he might be at that 
place, all this while, waiting for them. 

However great their anxiety may have been 
to reach the port of Bethsaida, it was not 
possible; for they were already in the very 
middle of the sea: the wind also was against 
them; and the sea, for so small a body of 
water, was very tempestuous. 

Those who have never been in similar cir- 
cumstances can have but a faint idea of the 
trials of poor seamen, when encountering ad- 
verse winds, and driven away from the very 
port to which they are bound, and which per- 
haps was just before in sight. But in the case 
of the apostles, their greatest trial was on ac- 
count of the Saviour. Had he been in the 
boat, they would willingly have yielded them- 
selves to the wind which would have at once 
wafted them home to Capernaum. 

Jesus, who knew all things and events, 
knew very well, though it was dark, what were 
the circumstances and feelings of his compan- 
ions. Perhaps he intended to delay coming 
to them; and, by means of his miraculous 



128 TRAVELS OF 

power, to put their faith in him to a severer 
trial than it ever had been before. Whatever 
may have been his intention, they certainly 
were sorely tried. 

As I have already said, in spite of all their 
efforts, they were, by this time, in the middle 
of the sea, two or three miles from land. It 
seems also to have been quite late in the night. 
And yet, faithful to the interests of their Mas- 
ter, and desirous of reaching Bethsaida if 
possible, they were still rowing against the 
wind, and trying to reach the port. 

In this time of distress, somebody approach- 
ed them, walking on the very surface of the 
water. This was a new sight to them. Who 
could it be? Was it some celestial messen- 
ger sent forth for their relief, or to bring them 
intelligence? They do not appear to have 
thought at the time, that it could possibly be 
the Saviour. "It is a spirit," was the gene- 
ral cry: and some of them were frightened 
exceedingly. 

But their fears were destined soon to sub- 
side. It was Jesus! He spake to them in 
his gentlest manner, and told them it was he, 
and they might be quiet and take courage. 
The individual was now come to them, who 



OUR SAVIOUR. 129 

could command both the wind and the waves, 
as he had given abundant proof, on a former 
occasion. 

As they knew his voice, their fears began 
to subside, and the warm-hearted Peter, al- 
ways foremost in every thing which required a 
little extraordinary boldness or bravery, and 
to show forth, perhaps, his faith, proposed to 
come and meet Jesus on the water. One can- 
not help thinking that another motive had 
weight with Peter at this time — the desire of 
doing what Jesus was doing, or perhaps the 
desire of doing something a little extraordi- 
nary; something which every one could not 
do. Whatever his motives may have been, 
however, his request was granted; and he 
stepped forth at once upon the troubled sea. 
It sustained him; and for a moment he went 
forward to meet his Saviour. 

But he had not proceeded far, before the 
roughness of the water and the violence of 
the wind began to alarm him, and he found 
himself sinking. It was a perilous moment 
to him; a little help from the Saviour, or he 
was lost. In the agony of his soul, he cried, 
Lord, save me! 



130 TRAVELS OF 

We have no evidence that any individual, 
in any circumstances whatever, who believed 
himself in danger as to body or soul, and 
cried mightily to Jesus, as Peter did, for 
relief, was ever neglected. But however this 
may be, the cry of Peter was not vain. Jesus, 
who by this time was near him, had but to 
stretch out his hand and take hold of Peter's, 
and he was safe; and the water became as 
solid to him as it was to his divine Master. 

Jesus, after gently reproaching him for his 
want of perseverance and faith, accompanied 
him into the boat, to the great joy, no doubt, 
of the rest of the apostles and of the crew. 
They had now nothing to do but to yield 
themselves to the wind and guide the boat a 
little, and they were soon on a landing place 
near Capernaum. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Jesus and his apostles land at Capernaum — Are followed by the 
multitude — The Saviour's instructions — His great plainness — 
Some leave him — Close questions to professed believers. 

As it was probably now daylight, it was 
impossible to conceal their arrival. No sooner 



OUR SAVIOUR. 131 

were they on shore, therefore, than they began 
to have a crowd about them as usual — some 
to hear him, some to see a miracle, if by 
chance he should perform any; some to bring 
their sick, and some to be cured themselves. 

One cannot help wondering at the patience 
of the Saviour in these circumstances. Go 
where he might, as every reader may easily 
perceive, there was no getting away from the 
people, except by miracle, hardly long enough 
to eat or sleep. Does the Saviour fret him- 
self on this account? Never; so far as we 
know. It is true he used every human means 
of evading the crowd, especially at times, 
but then he never complains. He teaches 
and preaches and heals, as fast as he can; 
and he perseveres in so doing. This was the 
life to which, in leaving the bosom of his 
Father and descending to this lower world, 
he had devoted himself. He came not to be 
ministered unto, but to minister, that is to 
serve. He came not to please himself, nor 
to be pleased; but to please others, or at least 
to do good to others. He was ready at all 
times, and in all circumstances, to give up 
self and selfish feelings — every thing, in short, 
which could advance his own happiness, in 



132 TRAVELS OF 

any form whatever, for the good of others. 
He was willing even to die for others, should 
it become necessary, as the event fully proved. 

Will a person whose object is to " spend 
himself and be spent" in the service of others, 
be found complaining of a little fatigue or 
vexation? Will he not, on the contrary, be 
willing to toil on, as long as he has strength, 
and be content to wear himself out in that 
toil? Will he shrink from the discharge of 
labors and duties the most arduous and severe ? 

And may not mankind — those of us who 
profess to be the Saviour's followers — learn 
an important lesson from his remarkable ex- 
ample? Are we not universally inclined to 
be selfish — to seek to gratify ourselves rather 
than yield any thing which might make us 
comfortable for the good of others? Are we 
not more willing to be "ministered unto" 
than to i( minister" — to be served than to serve. 
In short, are we not, in every respect, the 
very contrary, in our character — I mean as 
we are naturally inclined — to Jesus Christ? 
It seems to me that this is, or should be, one 
of the tests of Christian character. In pro- 
portion as we are like Christ, we shall give 
up our own native selfishness, and live for 
the good of others. Is it not so? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 133 

Yet how can we be regarded as the follow- 
ers of Christ, unless we are like him? Can 
we follow him, and yet not follow him? Can 
we be like him, and yet be exactly unlike 
him? Can we at one and the same time 
make it the great business of our lives to 
please ourselves, and to please or to do good 
to others? Are the two things possible? 

What then is to be done ? No one suppo- 
ses we are called to please others, to do good 
to them, or to serve them in the same way, 
exactly, as our Saviour did. We are in dif- 
ferent circumstances, from those in which he 
was placed, and sustain different relations. 
This, however, does not alter the case, as to 
principle. But the same spirit which attracted 
him— the disposition to live for others, instead 
of living for ourselves — must actuate us, and 
influence all our movements, and constitute 
the leading trait of our characters ; or, depend 
upon it, reader, whatever we may think, or 
whatever we may flatter ourselves to the con- 
trary, we cannot be his, here or hereafter. 

But to return to our Saviour's travels. As 

the boat which the apostles had entered on 

the eastern side of the sea, was the only boat 

which the multitude whom Jesus sent away 

12 



134 TRAVEL S O F 

had seen about there, and as they knew the 
Saviour did not get into that which his apos- 
tles entered, many of them, though upon his 
dismissing them they had retired a little way, 
returned to the spot the next morning, hoping 
to find him still there, or somewhere in the 
neighborhood. 

But when they had reason to believe he 
had gone back to the western side of the sea, 
they took the first opportunity of either com- 
ing around or of crossing over to him. When 
they arrived, they asked him how he came 
there — (C Rabbi, when earnest thou hither?" 
Jesus replied by charging them with that sel- 
fishness, of which I have just been speaking. 
(e Ye seek me, not because ye saw the mira- 
cles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, 
and were filled." 

Here he went into a long course of instruc- 
tion and reproof.* He endeavored to divest 

* I have said instruction and reproof; but the truth is, after all, 
that all instruction of a moral kind, if received at all, is apt to be 
regarded as reproof. It is humiliating to proud man to be in- 
structed j and he is apt to regard moral instruction as a sort of 
reproach of his ignorance. We should therefore endeavor to be 
as gentle as possible in our instructions, and to assume as little 
as possible the appearance of superiority. We can seldom assume 
the tone of our Saviour, even were it prudent or best, for we have 
not his authority. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 135 

them of their low, narrow, selfish views; to 
show them his own true character; and to 
enforce his claims as their prophet, priest, 
and king, and to demand their farther love 
and confidence. This conversation is one of 
the most interesting in the whole record of 
his life. 

It does not seem, however, to have been 
satisfactory. It was too spiritual for them. 
He told them that except they ate his flesh 
and drank his blood, they could not have a 
particle of spiritual life in their souls; and 
that he was the flesh or bread which they 
must eat — the bread which came down from 
heaven. Sometimes their dissatisfaction with 
his conversation broke out into open murmurs; 
sometimes it was concealed or suppressed. 

Strange as it may seem to us at this distant 
day, his very disciples — not the twelve, but 
others who followed him almost constantly — 
some of them at least, could not understand 
him. This is a hard saying, one would think 
within himself; and another, perhaps, would 
utter his sentiments aloud. It was for want 
of spirituality, and Jesus plainly told them so, 
and even expressed his belief, that some of 
them — alluding, perhaps, more particularly to 
Judas Iscariot — had no faith in him. 



136 TRAVELS OF 

This was the sorest trial to which they had 
ever, as yet, been subjected. In following 
him about, they had gone through many diffi- 
culties, and been tried, as they supposed, in 
almost every way already. To have their 
love or their confidence doubted, however, 
was not so easy to brook. But Jesus was re- 
solved to deal plainly with them, and if they 
could not stand it, it was better, perhaps, that 
they should leave him. One selfish man — one 
Judas — in his company, was doubtless quite 
enough. 

This severe, searching process of our Sa- 
viour had its intended effect. Some of those 
whose consciences plead guilty to a want of 
faith as well as of spirituality, to a want, in 
short, of likeness to him — and who knew in 
their own hearts that it was the loaves and 
fishes they were after, rather than the bread 
of heaven, now went away, and traveled no 
more with him. 

Jesus saw them departing, and in view of 
the powerful influence of example, said to the 
twelve apostles, "Will ye also go away?" 
Simon Peter answered him, by saying, "Lord, 
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life. And we believe and are sure 



OUR SAVIOUR. 137 

that thou art that Christ, the son of the living 
God." Have not I chosen you, the twelve, 
said Jesus, and yet, notwithstanding this mark 
of favor, is not one of you a very demon for 
wickedness? He referred to Judas Iscariot, 
whom he foresaw would be his betrayer and 
murderer. 

How many a time during my early youth, 
as I have read the Scriptures of divine truth, 
especially this striking account of the selfish 
disciples leaving Jesus to return to him no 
more, perhaps, till covered with confusion of 
face they returned to say to him, in vain, 
Lord, Lord, open unto us; — how many a time 
I say, I have shuddered! Leave the Saviour, 
I have said, when they had experienced kind- 
ness, heard his most blessed instructions, and 
seen his miracles! How could they do so? 

But how little did I know, at that time, of 
the nature of the human heart! How little 
did I perceive its want of spirituality — nay, 
my own want of it! How little did I see, 
what was undoubtedly true, that my own dis- 
position was the same with that of these very 
Jews, at whose conduct I so much wondered! 

And yet, I have not the slightest doubt, at 
the present moment, that such was the fact. 
12* 



138 TRAVELS OF 

I was as destitute of spirituality as these apos- 
tatizing Jews, and could have borne no better 
his searching, sifting process. I thought, in- 
deed, that I saw beauty in his character; and 
so I did. But the moment the world, with its 
pleasures and allurements, came in competi- 
tion with my regard for the Saviour, the latter 
was permitted — nay, required — to step aside. 

Was I alone? Were there not others — 
are there not now others — who are in the 
same situation? Nay, are there not some of 
the disciples of our Lord and Saviour — pro- 
fessed disciples, I mean — who are in the same 
condition? Suppose they were tried by the 
severe tests which were presented by our Sa- 
viour himself — would they stand the trial? 

Suppose the Saviour — it is not irreverent 
to make the supposition — were now to pass 
through our New England cities and villages, 
as he once did through the cities and villages 
of Galilee, and for a similar purpose. Sup- 
pose him to appear, not indeed precisely in 
the same style of dress and with the same man- 
ners as then, but in a style as plain and sim- 
ple, in comparison with the fashions and re- 
quirements of the present times, as he did 
eighteen hundred years ago, in comparison 



OUR SAVIOUR. 139 

with the times, as they then were. Would 
our young people, especially the gay and 
fashionable young men and young women 
who are just entering with interest into mat- 
rimonial life, or engaging in business, or are 
wholly devoted to amusements and pleasures 
— would they be willing to hear his instruc- 
tions? Would they be willing to be seen in 
his company? Would curiosity, which is 
always very strong — the desire to witness 
his miracles — induce them to appear in his 
train? But suppose he should go farther, and 
call upon them by name, and request them to 
follow him, is there a doubt that they would, 
at once, make good their retreat? 

Suppose he was even to call on some among 
us who now profess to be friendly to him, and 
request our constant attendance, would his 
request be complied with? Should we dare 
to be seen with him? Not that we should be 
willing to make our objections, openly, against 
his plainness of appearance, or confess our 
own want of spirituality. But how many ex- 
cuses would be made — business engagements, 
poverty, our own families, the times, &c. 
Suppose we were called to give up all for his 
sake — houses, lands, merchandize, family, 



140 TRAVELS OF 

yea, and life, if necessary — and go, as the 
apostles of old did, and spend our whole time 
in teaching, preaching, and working miracles; 
ridiculed, persecuted, and murdered as they 
were. Do you think we should do it? 

I greatly fear that multitudes of those who 
are called by the Christian name would be 
too proud to be seen in the Saviour's compa- 
ny; too selfish to share his poverty, and too 
lazy to persevere as he did in doing good in 
spite of opposition, especially when they had, 
like him and his twelve apostles, — some of 
them at least — -quiet and peaceful homes, and 
happy families, to which they could retire. 

But I must return from these digressions. 
It was not far from this time that the Saviour 
held a long conversation with the Pharisees 
about washings, &c. The latter, as it appears 
never allowed themselves to eat without first 
washing their hands; and finding among the 
vast multitudes of those who were called the 
disciples of Christ a few that did not attend to 
this ceremony, they made their complaint 
about it to the Saviour. He took advantage 
of the occasion to inculcate on them the im- 
portance of internal cleanliness, or, in other 
words, moral purity; and after many long dis- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 141 

courses with the Pharisees and with the peo- 
ple in general, he gave private instructions 
to the twelve on the same subject. It was 
his custom to explain to the twelve, in private, 
many things which were mysterious to the 
multitude, and which perhaps it was not in- 
tended they should understand fully at the 
time they were spoken. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Travels of the Saviour into Syria — The Syrophenician woman 
meets him — He heals her daughter — Heals a deaf and dumb 
man — Miracle of feeding the four thousand — Jesus and his apos- 
tles sail for Dalmanutha and Magdala — They return soon — Come 
to Bethsaida — Jesus heals a blind man — He and the apostles go 
to Cesarea Philippi — The Transfiguration — Cure of a lunatic — 
Tribute demanded — Another miracle — Dispute of the apostles 
about precedence — The Saviour's gentle yet efficient rebuke — 
Uncharitableness also rebuked — Forgiveness of injury inculca- 
ted. 

Hitherto, it is not known that the Saviour 
had been out of Palestine, except in his infan- 
tile journey into Egypt. The inhabitants of 
the adjacent countries of Syria, Idumea, and 
Arabia, as I have already told you, were con- 
sidered as Gentiles, and were regarded as 
unfit or unworthy, or at least unprepared for 



142 TRAVELS OF 

the gospel. It is true he had occasionally 
healed some of their sick; though, as it is 
believed, not very many. 

But now it was, in order to screen him- 
self, for a time, from the multitude, or for 
some reason unknown to us, that Jesus, ac- 
companied by the twelve, went forth, for a 
little while, into the borders of Tyre and Si- 
don. These two places lay on the shore of 
the Mediterranean Sea, in the western or rath- 
er southwestern borders of the province of 
Syria. # It is said that he attempted conceal- 
ment at first; but concealment here, as else- 
where, was impossible. 

It has been observed that he went just with- 
in the limits of the region about Tyre and Si- 
don; but some think he only approached them 
as if he was going to enter. I do not know 
how this was. Of one thing, however, are 
we certain, which is, that if he did not enter 
the country, he taught and healed some of 
its inhabitants. 

* Some of my readers may be a little surprised that I speak of 
Tyre and Sidon as belonging to Syria. They are put down on 
most of our Sabbath school maps as belonging to Palestine; being 
within the limits of the tribe of Asher. But although they do 
not appear to have ever been subdued by the Israelites, they seem 
to have afterwards constituted, practically and really, a part of 
Syria. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 143 

For, as he was passing along through these 
regions, he was met by a woman from the 
neighborhood of the cities just mentioned 
whose daughter was possessed with a devil. 
Approaching him — for it seems she knew him 
— and putting herself in a posture of supplica- 
tion, she implored him to have mercy on her 
daughter, and restore her to health. The 
apostles advised him to send her away; think- 
ing, in all probability, as they did of the wo- 
man of Samaria, at the well of Jacob, that it 
was not for her, a poor Gentile, to be bene- 
fited or to expect to be benefited by their 
Master's labors. 

The Saviour himself seemed disposed at 
first to pass her by; and gave, as the reason, 
that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel, and not by any means to the 
Gentile nations. But the Syrophenician wo- 
man for such she was called, was importunate, 
and would not be refused; and Jesus seeing 
her great faith in him, at length condescended 
to grant her request, and her daughter was 
made whole. 

The Saviour did not tarry a great while in 
these regions, but turning back, he proceed- 
ed along the western coast of the Sea of Gal- 



144 TRAVELS OF 

ilee, toDecapolis, or the "ten cities/' which, 
as I have elsewhere said, lay a little to the 
south of that sea. Here, having ascended a 
mountain, he sat down there, probably to rest 
himself and perhaps also to teach; for it seems 
to have been quite customary in those days to 
teach in a sitting posture. 

While he was in this region the inhabitants 
brought to him a deaf and dumb man, beg- 
ging that he too, among the rest, might be 
cured. Jesus made no objection to this; be- 
ing now in his own country, among his own 
nation of the Jews — the lost sheep to whom 
he was sent. So after taking him aside, he 
put his fingers into his ears and spit, then 
touched his tongue, and at the same time 
looking upward and sighing, said Ephphatha, 
which meant "be opened." No sooner was 
this done than both his deafness and dumb- 
ness left him to the great astonishment of the 
spectators, as well as to the great joy of the 
poor sufferer. 

Here also in this region of southern Galilee, 
Jesus performed another stupendous miracle 
of feeding the multitude around him. They 
had been with him about three days; and as 
it would seem, without food, or almost without 



OUR SAVIOUR. 145 

any; and, as many of them lived a great way 
off, Jesus thought it necessary, before sending 
them away, to feed them. 

Whether the apostles had forgotten the for- 
mer miracle or not cannot now be known; 
but certain it is that they acted as if they had. 
They made the same objections, or rather 
presented the same sort of difficulties, which 
Philip had brought, when Jesus was about to 
feed the crowd near Bethsaida. tc Whence," 
said they, as soon as the subject was agitated, 
cc should we have so much bread here in the 
wilderness, as to feed so great a multitude?" 

On inquiry how much they had, it was found 
that they had, in all, seven loaves of bread 
and a few small fishes. This, for the Sa- 
viour's purpose, was enough. Almighty pow- 
er could indeed have made one loaf and one 
fish satisfy the multitude as well as seven 
of either or each. Or, if the miracle consist- 
ed in adding to the quantity of the bread, 
which I suppose was the case, the same pow- 
er could add to one loaf the necessary quan- 
tity, as easily as to a dozen. 

The multitude to be fed at this time was 
about four thousand men, besides women and 
children. They were arranged in rows on the 
13 



146 



TRAVELS OF 



ground, as in the former instance; and the 
same forms or ceremonies, or nearly the same, 
were observed, and with the same results. 
All were fed, and well fed, and seven baskets 
full of fragments remained. 

When all had eaten and were satisfied, Je- 
sus sent them away. As soon as they were 
gone, he and his apostles having procured a 
boat, went on board, and set out for the cities 
of Magdala and Dalmanutha. 

Here he again encountered the pride and 
craft of the Jews who dwelt there, especially 
the Pharisees and Sadducees. They demand- 
ed signs from heaven, or, in plain language, 
miracles, in proof of the truth of his mission. 
But these, for reasons which he freely gave 
them, were refused. He does not appear to 
have staid long at this time in these places; 
but with his apostles he soon recrossed the 
sea and went into his native region. 

After they had thus returned, and had be- 
gun their journey along the western shore of 
the sea in another direction, they came to 
Bethsaida. There were two places called by 
this name, one of which has been mentioned 
in other chapters. The one at which the Sa- 
viour and his apostles had now arrived, was 



OUR SAVIOUR. 147 

not far from Tiberias, at a considerable dis- 
tance southward from Capernaum. 

Having come into the city, a blind man 
was brought to him to be cured. Jesus ever 
ready to all good works of the kind, healed 
him, in a manner similar to that in which he 
had healed the deaf and dumb man in Decap- 
olis. 

Leaving Bethsaida and journeying north- 
ward, without stopping long — if indeed they 
stopped at all — at Capernaum, they came, 
after a journey of about two days, to Cesarea 
Philippic This was quite the northern part 
of Galilee; forty miles at least north of Ca- 
pernaum; and lay near the foot or base of 
Mount Hermon. It was then a city of con- 
siderable size. At present it is a village of 
only about 150 houses, and is called Banias. 

It would appear that while Jesus and his 
apostles were journeying along to Cesarea 
Philippi, they stepped aside at times, a little 
way from the road, for prayer. On a certain 
occasion of this sort, a conversation took place, 

* I believe this city was on the site of the ancient city of Dan, 
so often coupled with Beersheba. Thus, from " Dan to Beershe- 
ba," meant from the northern, quite to the southern extremity of 
the land. 



148 TRAVELS OF 

in which the Saviour endeavored to ascertain 
the views of Peter, in regard to his own char- 
acter, Here it was that he uttered the re- 
markable expression, Thou art Peter; and 
upon this rock I will build my church; and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 
A statement the more remarkable on account 
of the promise it contains of the perpetuity of 
Christ's church. Let him whose fears have 
been awakened, for the moment, in regard to 
the safety of the church, remember this prom- 
ise of the Saviour and take courage. 

This statement of the Saviour, made to Pe- 
ter, has been rendered more remarkable still by 
the improper use made of it by the Papists. 
The word Peter, in Greek, signifies a rock or 
stone. Now a stone or rock may be employed 
as an image of perpetuity, because it is so 
enduring and indestructible. Hence, Christ 
turns his thoughts as he does on the mention 
of Peter's name; giving the assurance, and 
making the promise he does, in relation to his 
church. But the Papists have vainly ingraft- 
ed on this circumstance the doctrine that Pe- 
ter is the head of the church, and that the 
popes, as his successors, are the vicegerents 
of God, and as such are sacred and infallible. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 149 

We are not told what happened while Je- 
sus and the apostles were at Cesarea Philippi, 
nor with what success they preached there. 
Perhaps they did not make a long stay in the 
city. It was probably while they were there, 
or during their return to the southern parts 
of Galilee, that Jesus gave the apostles the 
first exact information in regard to the man- 
ner of his death; and it was in one of his con- 
versations on this unwelcome subject that Pe- 
ter took his Master in hand, and actually re- 
buked him for saying such things of himself. 
It was to Peter's unmerited rebuke that the 
Saviour replied, with a severity to which he 
was unaccustomed, "Get thee behind me, Sa- 
tan!" It was also at the close of one of his 
discourses on this occasion, that the Saviour 
first predicted, with any considerable plain- 
ness, the coming unhappy fate of Jerusalem 
and the destruction of the Jewish policy; and 
observed that all which he predicted would 
happen during the life-time of some of those 
who stood by and heard him. 

We come now to the transfiguration of the 

Saviour. By the transfiguration, is meant the 

surprising change in his appearance which 

took place on a certain occasion when only a 

13* 



150 TRAVELS OF 

few of his apostles were with him. The cir- 
cumstances were as follows. 

Either on their return from Cesarea Philippi 
or soon afterward, while the Saviour and his 
disciples were traveling along, they came 
near a mountain of considerable size. Some 
suppose it was Mount Tabor, but it is not 
certainly known what mountain it was. On 
coming near it, the Saviour, selecting Peter 
James and John for his special companions, 
ascended the mountain and retired for prayer. 

While he was praying, a change in his ap- 
pearance took place, corresponding to our 
earthly notions of celestial or angelic purity. 
His face shone like the sun, and his raiment 
became also as white as snow, and glistened 
and shone in the same manner. Moses and 
Elijah also made their appearance, and entered 
into conversation with Jesus. Under these 
new and amazing circumstances, and at the 
same time transfixed, as it were, with aston- 
ishment, hardly knowing what he said or did* 
Peter proposed to build three tabernacles 
there, one for each of the two visiters, and one 
for the Saviour. 

This circumstance, which Jesus, in speak- 
ing of it calls a vision, the three disciples were 



OUR SAVIOUR. 151 

required to keep a profound secret, till after 
his resurrection. Though they were exceed- 
ingly puzzled to know what he meant by his 
resurrection, and were apparently unwilling 
to ask him about it, they kept the secret, ac- 
cording to his request. 

Here, on this mountain, they appear to 
have staid about twenty-four hours. It is 
said by some writers that there were houses 
for prayer in the more retired places on the 
mountains of Palestine; and if so, it is not im- 
probable that Jesus and his companions oc- 
cupied, during the night, one of these houses. 
Where the rest of the apostles were it is dif- 
ficult to say; or how the people of the coun- 
try round about so soon and so generally 
heard of the return of the little company from 
the north. Certain it is, however, that they 
had heard of it; for Jesus and the three apos- 
tles no sooner descended from the mount of 
transfiguration, than they were met in great 
numbers by the multitude; who began to 
crowd upon them as usual. 

Here a lunatic was brought to Jesus to be 
healed of his malady. It was a young person 
— a child as he is called — and his case was a 
most obstinate one, so much so, that it was 



152 TRAVELS OF 

represented to the Saviour that his apostles 
could not cure him. Jesus, however, after 
gently reproving the apostles for their want 
of faith, effected the complete restoration of 
the lunatic, and delivered him sound again to 
his father. 

We have already seen that up to this period, 
though the Saviour had traveled most in Gal- 
ilee, he had not wholly abandoned Judea. 
Especially had he traveled there about the 
time of the feasts. But so troublesome to 
him had the people of Judea now become, 
especially when set on by their leaders, the 
priests and scribes, that he resolved to spend 
the remainder of his days chiefly in his native 
province of Galilee. Here, indeed, he had 
trouble enough; and his life, by reason of the 
multitudes that thronged him, had become as 
it were a burden to him, or would at least 
have become so had he been nothing more 
than human; yet he was not here in such im- 
minent danger, every hour, of losing his life, 
as in Judea. 

He now began, more frequently than for- 
merly, to give his apostles information about 
his approaching crucifixion, and to prepare 
their minds and hearts for the event. They 



OUR SAVIOUR. 153 

did not, it is true, fully understand him. So 
firmly riveted still, was the notion that he 
was yet to be a temporal as well as a spiritual 
Messiah or deliverer, that they could not 
clearly comprehend what he said to them on 
the subject. 

One day, as he and his apostles came into 
the city of Capernaum, they were met by the 
collectors of the sacred tribute — a tax which 
was collected every year for the support of 
the services of the temple at Jerusalem, and 
which was half a shekel, or about twenty-five 
or twenty-six cents. Does not your Master 
pay tribute ? one of them asked Peter. He 
replied, Yes. 

When the matter was mentioned to the Sa- 
viour, he showed to Peter, very plainly, that 
for himself, he was under no obligation to pay 
the tribute. However, as his refusal might 
be misconstrued by a class of persons, who 
are often disposed to shelter themselves in 
their neglect, under the example of somebody 
or other, and as it was a small sum, he con- 
cluded to pay it. A miracle was wrought, 
however, for the purpose. A fish was ordered 
to be caught with a hook, in whose mouth, 
after it was caught, was found a shekel of sil- 



154 TRAVELS OF 

ver, with which Peter was required to pay his 
own and the Saviour's proportion of the trib- 
ute. 

As they were traveling along one day, 
about this time, and the apostles were partly 
by themselves at a little distance from the Sa- 
viour, a dispute arose among them who 
should be the greatest in their Master's king- 
dom; for, as I have just told you, they could 
not yet get rid of the fond idea that he was 
to be a temporal prince among them, and have 
a temporal kingdom. 

But Jesus perceiving the thoughts of their 
hearts, and the unchristian disposition they 
evinced, called them to account at the next 
house where they stopped. It was done in a 
way so striking, that they could not but remem- 
ber the lesson it was intended to inculcate. 

Having called them all around him, and 
told them that if any one desired to be first, 
it was fitting he should be last, he took a little 
child and deliberately set him in the midst of 
them. After the lapse of a few moments, to 
give opportunity, no doubt, for reflection, he 
took the child up in his arms, and observed, 
that unless they were converted to the confi- 
ding temper and unambitious character of 



OUR SAVIOUR. 155 

childhood, they could not enter his kingdom — 
the kingdom of heaven — and that if there 
were ranks in the kingdom of heaven, those 
would be considered first who were most hum- 
ble, like infants and young children. He 
even repeated the sentiment; " Whosoever 
shall humble himself as this little child, the 
same is the greatest in the kingdom of heav- 
en." 

The instructions he gave to the apostles on 
this occasion are exceedingly interesting. 
Some of his remarks were moreover peculiar- 
ly affecting; especially when he told them to 
beware lest they fell into the habit of despis- 
ing little children. "For I say unto you," 
says he, "that in heaven their angels do al- 
ways behold the face of my Father which is 
in heaven." 

Jesus took the following opportunity to re- 
buke the spirit of uncharitableness or exclu- 
siveness. The apostles informed him, one 
day, that they had seen a person who did not 
follow the Saviour casting out devils; and 
though he did it in his name, they had thought 
proper to forbid his doing so. This the Sa- 
viour did not approve. "There is no man," 
said he, " who shall do a miracle in my name, 



156 TRAVELS OF 

that can lightly speak evil of me." "For 
whosoever shall give you a cup of water," he 
added, "in my name, because ye belong to 
Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not 
lose his reward." 

Among the instructions given in the same 
connection with the foregoing, were those in 
regard to the settlement of difficulties between 
brethren, the forgiveness of injuries, &c. 
Peter inquired on the latter point, "Lord, 
how oft shall my brother sin against me, and 
I forgive him; till seven times? Jesus said 
unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven 
times, but until seventy times seven." Ex- 
cellent lesson! How few of us forgive to 
the four hundred and ninetieth time! Let us 
take shame and confusion of face to ourselves, 
on this account, and from henceforth begin to 
cultivate a better spirit. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 157 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Jesus goes to Jerusalem at the feast of the tabernacles — His in- 
structions in the temple — The Jews dissatisfied — They conspire 
to seize him, but are not permitted — Continues his instructions 
— Goes out at night to lodge — Why — The woman who had been 
accused of adultery brought to him — How he disposed of her — 
Resumes his instructions — They attempt to stone him — He ef- 
fects his escape — Cure of a man born blind. 

Another feast at Jerusalem — the Feast of 
Tabernacles — was at hand. As Jesus had 
been for some time traveling up and down 
Galilee, his relatives were desirous he should 
now go to the feast. The reasons they gave 
for it, however, were not their strongest rea- 
sons. His disciples in Judea, they observed 
— those who had been partly converted by 
him — needed his presence, that their faith 
might be strengthened and confirmed by hear- 
ing his instructions and seeing more of his 
mighty works. 

This, I say, was the reason they gave; and 
perhaps it had some weight in their minds. 
There was, however, another reason, grow- 
ing out of their own unbelief, which was prob- 
ably more operative. They could not under- 
14 



158 TRAVELS OF 

stand how it was, that a person who claimed 
to be the real Messiah, and was entitled to 
make such a claim, should neglect to raise 
himself and his family to those stations to 
which during the reign of the true Messiah 
they would be entitled. They were therefore 
anxious to get him a little nearer to Jerusa- 
lem, the seat of temporal power. 

Jesus did not wholly object to going to the 
feast, but only said that he was not yet ready. 
He urges his friends to go, however, and by 
no means to wait for him. 

It seems that they followed his advice and 
concluded not to wait for him. They set out 
on their journey, at once; while he remained 
a little longer in Galilee. After a few days, 
however, he followed them, not openly, but 
rather privately, with the least possible com- 
pany, and with little ceremony or noise. 

As it was expected by the Jews at Jerusa- 
lem and in Judea generally, that Jesus would 
be present, there was quite a search for him 
during the first days of the feast. Both friends 
and enemies expressed great surprise that he 
did not make his appearance; the former 
wishing to see him and to have him on the 
spot to render his assistance in promoting the 



OUR SAVIOUR. 159 

good cause of truth, while the latter, believing 
him to be a bad man, pretended to be more 
confirmed in the belief that he was a deceiver 
than they ever had been before. 

About the middle of the feast time Jesus 
arrived and made his appearance in the tem- 
ple. Here he commenced, at once, his pub- 
lic course of instruction. The Jews marvelled 
at him; expressing at the same time great 
wonder at the extent and depth of his learn- 
ing, not having been bred at any of their large, 
important, and highly distinguished semina- 
ries. " How knoweth this man letters," said 
they, <c having never learned?" 

The replies of Jesus to these inquiries are 
all interesting and full of his accustomed wis- 
dom, but I must pass them over. Suffice it 
to say, that the Jews were not satisfied. Some 
of them charged him, among other things, with 
having a devil; and finally attempted to lay 
violent hands upon him. But his hour had 
not yet arrived. They were not yet permitted 
to assail him with success, as long as more 
work remained for him to do. 

Jesus, therefore, continued his instructions 
in the temple with the greatest freedom and 
boldness; some approving, others disapprove 



160 TRAVELS OF 

ing. The opposition party was steadily in- 
creasing, however, and a band of officers was 
actually ordered out, at length, to seize him 
and bring him to trial. But these officers 
were so abashed and awed by his presence, 
that they dared not, for a time, to take him. 
Perhaps, too, they were afraid of the indigna- 
tion of the multitude ; for, as we have already 
seen, there were sometimes mobs in those 
days as well as now. 

When the officers who were to have taken 
the Saviour went back to the Sanhedrim or 
high court, under whose orders they acted, 
and the court perceived they had not brought 
the offender with them, they inquired the rea- 
son why. " Never man spake like this man," 
they answered. 

How full of meaning their reply ; and how 
true! No mere man since the world began, 
we may say even now, ever spake like the 
Saviour. More than this might in fact be 
said. Never man will speak like him. 

We are not told what were the consequen- 
ces of that official neglect of which I have 
been speaking, except that the Sanhedrim up- 
braided the delinquents, and charged them 
with being deceived by the Saviour's artful 



OUR SAVIOUR. 161 

and popular address. Perhaps more would 
have been done with them had not a difficulty 
arose — a sort of word quarrel — among the 
Sanhedrim themselves, which ended, for the 
time, in breaking up their proceedings; the 
judges going home and the officers going about 
their usual business. 

Jesus, towards evening, went out to the 
Mount of Olives, in order to spend the night, 
as some suppose, in prayer. Or, it may be, 
that he went out as far as Bethany, a little 
beyond the highest part of the mount, and tar- 
ried with Lazarus and his sisters Martha and 
Mary who resided there. The last I think 
the more probable conjecture of the two. 
Perhaps, also, personal safety may have had 
some influence with him, in doing it. His 
hour had not yet come, I must observe once 
more; and until it had, he must use every 
natural means of safety as much as if he had 
been merely human. 

One thing, at any rate, is quite obvious, 
which is, that the Saviour disliked the city. 
Do you ask, why, then, did he have so much 
to do with it? To benefit its inhabitants, is 
the appropriate reply; to effect a moral 
cleansing; to purify it. Bad as Jerusalem 
14* 



162 TRAVELS OF 

was in many respects, it was a sort of nervous 
centre to Palestine; and such as were the 
sympathies of this centre, such in no small 
degree were the state and condition, for the 
time being, of the whole Jewish nation. 

It is usually supposed that the population 
of Jerusalem, at the period of which I am now 
speaking, was immense. If it really contained 
three millions of people and several hundred 
synagogues, as some have supposed, it must 
certainly have been the theatre of much good 
and evil. The latter would not, it is believed, 
be diminished at the feast times. Such a bus- 
tle as must have been produced by the meet- 
ing together of a whole nation, as it were, at 
its capital, three times a year, and holding 
their sessions seven or eight days, could hard- 
ly be favorable to the virtue of the citizens, 
or their visitants. No wonder the Saviour 
seemed hardly willing to stay in it during the 
night, especially on such occasions of tumult, 
and so very glad to get out to the Mount of 
Olives, or to Bethany. 

I do not know at how early an hour the 
temple was opened for the morning Jewish 
service; but Jesus, who seems to have been 
always an early riser, came back betimes 



OUR SAVIOUR. 163 

from his place of lodging, and renewed his 
public instructions. Nor were his labors con- 
fined to a small, stinted number of hearers 
there; for whatever their motives may have 
been, the multitude still continued to gather 
round him when he spake, whether in the 
temple or out of it. It is said that, at the time 
of which I am now speaking, " all the people 
came unto him. 55 This all the people cannot 
of course mean to include all the city; for the 
temple would not have held them; but only 
all those who were there for morning worship; 
though it is probable the expression was de- 
signed to indicate that the number was very 
great. 

While the Saviour sat there engaged in 
teaching, the Scribes and Pharisees brought 
to him a woman who they said had been taken 
in the act of adultery ; wishing to know what 
he would have done with her. Moses, they 
said, required that such criminals should be 
stoned; but what were his wishes? This was 
an artifice of these wicked men, by means of 
which they intended to get him into difficulty. 
For, if he should pronounce her innocent, they 
meant to accuse him to their rulers, as hav- 
ing no regard to the laws of his country; 



164 TRAVELS OF 

whereas, if he pronounced her guilty — a thing, 
by the way, which as a mere human being it 
did not belong to him to do — they meant to 
complain of him to the Roman government. 
Thus, in one way or another, they were de- 
termined to entrap him. 

But Jesus knew the human heart too well 
to be so easily ensnared as they supposed. 
Stooping down, he wrote on the ground, for 
some time, with his finger, as if he did not 
hear them. Meanwhile they continued, at 
intervals, to interrogate and to importune him; 
till he at last replied; "He that is without 
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at 
her." 

When he had said this, he continued his 
writing on the ground, leaving the Scribes 
and Pharisees to their reflections. They, poor 
men, were now in a most sad condition, en- 
snared by their own devices, and foiled with 
their own instruments. It is conjectured by 
some, that they were all guilty, in a greater or 
less degree, of the very crime they had charged 
on the woman, and that Jesus meant to inti- 
mate as much when he said, "He that is 
without sin among you," — meaning the sin of 
adultery. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 165 

Worse than all, too, conscience, that pow- 
erful but bold accuser of secret crime, coming 
against them, they could not brave it out. 
Convicted of sin and ashamed, as it were, to 
look each other in the face, they stole away 
out of the temple, one after another, the older 
in years and in sin first, and the younger af- 
terward, till Jesus and the woman were left 
alone in the midst of the crowd of spectators 
which had surrounded them, so anxious to 
know the results. 

When they had all retired, Jesus ceased 
his writing and rose up. Seeing that the ac- 
cusers of the woman had all disappeared, he 
said to her, " Where are thine accusers? 
Hath no man condemned thee?" She told 
him, no. " Neither do I condemn thee," he 
rejoined; cc go, and sin no more." 

It may seem to some of my readers, as if 
Jesus regarded this flagrant crime too lightly. 
But there is no evidence of this; none at all. 
It was not his business, I say again, to con- 
demn her, as an earthly Judge. With earthly 
trials for crime, earthly acquittals and earthly 
condemnations, he had, as a matter of course, 
nothing at all to do. It is reserved for Him 
to pronounce sentence at the judgment of the 
great tribunal — the tribunal of the last day. 



166 TRAVELS OF 

The closing piece of advice he gave her is 
sufficient to show that he did not make light 
of her transgression. "Go, and sin no more/' 
implies that she had sinned; and he no doubt 
regarded her guilt as of a dye as much deeper 
than any human eye has ever regarded it, as 
Infinite Purity exceeds that purity which even 
in a John or a Peter was but the purity of a fi- 
nite and imperfect being; and would still need 
washing in the atoning blood of the Redeemer. 

Jesus continued his instructions in the tem- 
ple — occasionally interrupted, however, by the 
inquiries and opposition of the Pharisees and 
others. It must be quite obvious to those who 
have paid much attention to these discourses 
of the Saviour, that they differ very essentially 
in their character from modern sermons, re- 
taining more of the character of familiar but 
free and energetic discussion. Some of them 
were, undoubtedly, of great length, perhaps 
longer than any of our sermons; but generally 
they were not so; and many of them were 
short. Instead of being presented in the form 
of reflections or comments on a text or pas- 
sage of Scripture, they were usually suggest- 
ed by some passing event either ordinary or 
extraordinary. Perhaps his preaching from a 



OUR SAVIOUR. 167 

text, in Nazareth, at the commencement of his 
ministry, may indicate that he did not wholly 
neglect this mode of preaching. But even if 
he did not, he often discoursed otherwise, as 
I have already told you. 

These discourses or discussions in the tem- 
ple were by no means in vain. Like truth, 
when properly and faithfully presented — re- 
ligious truth, I mean — it had the effect to sun- 
der mankind, as with a sword, as Jesus some- 
times expressed it. Some believed what he 
said, while others arrayed themselves against 
him, and would have laid hands upon him, but 
that " his hour" for departure to his Father, 
" was not yet come." 

One charge was made against him at this 
time, which, so far as I can learn, was never 
made by his enemies at any other time, either 
before or afterward. It was that he was a 
Samaritan. They charged him also with hav- 
ing a demon or devil; but this was nothing 
new. They had made this charge repeatedly 
before. 

I have said that they were not permitted to 
lay violent hands on him at this time; but 
they came very near it. Happening to speak 
of himself as existing before Abraham, they 
took offence immediately, and when he insist- 



168 TRAVELS OF 

ed on it, that he was really before Abraham, 
they could refrain from violence no longer. 
They had even begun to gather stones to 
stone him, when Jesus, finding it proper to 
avoid their attack, passed out from among 
them, concealed in some way — perhaps mirac- 
ulously—from their sight, and so for the pres- 
ent made his escape. 

The next thing we hear of him was his mi- 
raculous cure of the person born blind. He 
made a species of clay, and applied it to his 
eyes, and bade him wash in the pool of Silo- 
am, and he returned seeing.^ This individual 
became ultimately a disciple of the truth, and 
of the Saviour. 

* The question has arisen, in the minds of many, why our 
Lord, in the performance of his miracles, made use of instrumen- 
talities. It is sufficient, perhaps, in general, to say that such was 
his sovereign will and pleasure ; and yet I am disposed to present 
a more particular answer, which I find in Bloomfield's Testament, 
in a note to page 187, of vol. I, Boston edition. The author, in 
speaking of this very miracle of curing the blind man, thus re- 
marks : 

" The reason " (why our Lord used these means) " was, no 
doubt, that assigned by most recent commentators, viz., that Christ 
was pleased, in condescension to human weakness, to use external 
actions significant of the cure to be performed; and thereby to 
strengthen the faith and confirm the hopes of the sick persons 
and those who brought them ; and, moroever, to show them that 
the power he was about to exert, resided in himself. Our Lord 
adopted these actions, and also the usual one of laying his hands 
on the sick, in order to show that he was not confined to any 
one particular mode." 



OUR SAVIOUR. 169 



CHAPTER XV. 

Feast of the dedication — Jesus attends it — Is again persecuted — 
Flies to Bethabara — Is sent for to go to Bethany — Raises Laza- 
rus from the dead — Is again persecuted and obliged to retire — 
Another interview with the family at Bethany — The mission 
of the seventy disciples. 

How much time elapsed between the events 
of the last chapter and those of the following, 
I find it difficult to determine. Nor is it per- 
haps of much importance that we should know 
the precise amount. The Saviour, during the 
intervals, was probably employed somewhere 
in the province of Judea; perhaps chiefly in 
the very neighborhood of Jerusalem. 

At length, however, another feast was to be 
held. It was the feast of the dedication, as it 
was called. The Saviour was present. He 
walked — as the evangelist says, and probably 
gave instructions just at this time, while 
walking — in the porch of the temple. 

Here the Jews again came around him, and 

importuned him to tell them plainly whether 

he was the Messiah. Jesus assured them 

that he had already told them, but that they 

15 



170 TRAVELS OF 

would not believe him; and after saying many 
things against them on account of their unbe- 
lief, he repeated his statements respecting his 
character, and closed his remarks by saying, 
" I and my Father are one. 53 

Upon this, they boldly charged him with 
blasphemy, and notwithstanding his most mas- 
terly defence, they attempted again to stone 
him. Finding it impossible to do any thing 
more in Jerusalem, at present, he left the 
place and repaired eastward to Bethabara, on 
the river Jordan, where he had been baptized; 
where for some time he remained. It appears 
that he did not by any means discontinue his 
instructions while he remained there; for it is 
said expressly that many of the people believed 
on him. 

I have spoken elsewhere of the possibility 
of his having become acquainted, before this 
time, with Lazarus and Martha and Mary, at 
Bethany. One of the reasons for this belief 
will now appear. 

While he was at Bethabara, on the present 
occasion, word was brought to him from 
Martha and Mary, the two sisters, that Lazarus 
was sick. The message in the Scripture 
language was, " Lord, behold he whom thou 



OUR SAVIOUR. 171 

lovest is sick." A most manifest proof of an 
attachment to the family which must have 
arisen somehow and at some time or other. 
Those who are entire strangers to each other 
do not send such messages as this. 

The distressed family did not ask the Sa- 
viour to come and see them, so far as it 
appears. It was enough to let him know their 
situation. A thousand requests, in such a 
case, would add little to the force of the 
errand. If he really loved the sick man, as 
is taken for granted, the message was suffi- 
cient. He would come just as quickly, to see 
him, as if much more had been said. 

The object of Martha and Mary — their 
expectation rather- — in all probability was, 
that Jesus would come and heal Lazarus, and 
that he would do so immediately. But he did 
not think it expedient to go immediately. 
Why he did not, cannot be told. There were 
good reasons for his delay, most undoubtedly. 
His apostles, we know, remonstrated against 
his going at all, on account of the danger from 
the Jews; but we cannot well suppose this, 
with him, was a cause of delay. 

Bethabara and Bethany may have been 
about thirty miles apart. Jesus remained at 



172 TRAVELS OF' 

Bethabara, where he was, two days. The 
third day he set out on the journey, and 
probably arrived at the place either that day 
in the evening, or on the morning of the day 
following. 

When he arrived with his apostles, he 
found the family in the deepest grief. Laza- 
rus was dead; and it was now going on four 
days since he had expired. The affectionate 
and open-hearted Martha reminded Jesus, as 
soon as she saw him, of his delay, saying, 
"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother 
had not died." This shows with what expec- 
tation the Saviour had been sent for. Her 
faith, as it appears, however, was not yet 
wholly gone. " I know that even now," she 
added, "whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, 
God will give it thee." 

Lazarus had been buried away from the 
village a little way — near the public road; for 
it was not customary with the Jews — and 
should not be with any class of people — to 
bury their dead in the town or village. The 
place of interment was one of those little caves 
with which not only Mount Olivet but most of 
the hills and mountains of Palestine abound. 
A large stone had been placed at the mouth 
of it, after the burial. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 173 

Jesus had assured Martha almost as soon 
as he arrived, that her brother should rise 
again; but whether it was perfectly understood 
by her that he would be raised at this time, 
is not quite so clear. It is, however, most 
likely that it was so; for the Saviour and his 
apostles, and the two sisters, and a great 
concourse of spectators, were now leaving the 
house, and proceeding towards the grave. 

There was, indeed, one natural obstacle in 
the way of his being raised again; at least it 
would occur to the friends as an obstacle, and 
appears to have been mentioned as such by 
Martha. This was that, as he had been dead 
several days, the body would by this time be 
corrupted. To this difficulty, however, if 
indeed she presented it as a difficulty, Jesus 
gave an appropriate and encouraging reply, 
and then proceeded to accomplish his work. 

They were arrived at the spot. The sisters 
were weeping, Mary especially; and her 
Jewish friends were weeping with her. The 
scene was an affecting one. Who would not 
have wept ! The Son of God was himself 
affected, even to tears. The Bible assures 
us of it in the most brief and yet most 
comprehensive language, " Jesus wept." 
15* 



174 TRAVELS OF 

The stone, at the Saviour's request, was 
now removed from the grave; Jesus offered a 
prayer. It was a prayer of few words ; but 
it was full of meaning. It was, moreover, an 
accepted prayer, as the prayers of Jesus to 
his Father always were. 

When it was finished, the spectators were 
privileged to behold one of the most wonder- 
ful scenes — surpassed only by those at Sarep- 
ta and Nain, and those were private rather 
than public — which the world ever saw. 
" Lazarus, come forth!" said the Saviour, in a 
commanding tone of voice. The command 
was heard and obeyed. He who had been 
dead came forth; and having been released 
from the habiliments of the grave, was re- 
stored sound to his sisters and friends. 

Such an event could not be without effect. 
Many of the Jews gave up their prejudices, 
and became the Saviour's disciples. Others, 
however, were only so much the more har- 
dened. Their first concern was to inform the 
Pharisees — probably their leaders — what had 
been done, who, having collected the high 
court or Sanhedrim, held a consultation forth- 
with, to decide what was to be done. They 
acknowledged that Jesus did many miracles; 



OUR SAVIOUR. 175 

but there were other difficulties with them. 
"If we let him thus alone," they said, " all 
men will believe on him; and the Romans 
shall come and take away both our place and 
nation. " 

The result of the proceedings of the Sanhe- 
drim, as might have been expected from what 
had been the result of some of their former 
meetings, was, they declared that the Saviour 
ought to be put to death. Of this result he 
was probably soon apprised; for he left the 
neighborhood, and went to Ephraim, a city 
somewhere in the vicinity of the river Jordan, 
where he remained with his disciples a long 
time. 

This is not the last, however, which we 
hear of the family at Bethany. There is rea- 
son to believe that the Saviour made their 
house his home, whenever he was in Jerusa- 
lem afterward. On one occasion, when he 
called there, it is particularly mentioned that 
he found Martha greatly troubled about her 
household concerns, as well as somewhat fret- 
ful at her sister Mary, because she did not as- 
sist her enough in managing her domestic 
concerns. Jesus gave her much appropriate 
and very useful instruction; such as ought to 



176 



TRAVELS OF 



have cured her of her worldly-mindedness; 
and which, perhaps, did so. He also met a 
part of the family on another occasion at a 
feast in the same town of Bethany, not long 
before his death. But this will be mentioned 
in its place. 

It was not far from the time of the miracle 
at Bethany, of which I have just been speak- 
ing, that Jesus paid one more visit to Galilee, 
his native region. Here he made new efforts 
for the conversion of his countrymen and with 
new success. 

The number of permanent disciples in his 
company had by this period of his ministry 
considerably increased. In addition to the 
twelve, whom he had long since ordained to 
be apostles, there were about seventy others, 
who were prepared to execute important mis- 
sions. They are called in the gospel narra- 
tive emphatically the seventy. 

As eighty-three effective men could accom- 
plish the tour of a country much sooner than 
a smaller number, and as the time for Jesus 
to be offered up was now at hand, and what 
was done under his particular direction must 
be done quickly, he proceeded to send 
out the seventy disciples to be missionaries 



OUR SAVIOUR. 177 

before him, just as he had formerly done the 
twelve; and accordingly he gave them all 
necessary instruction. Their instructions are 
preserved and recorded in the tenth chapter 
of the gospel according to Luke. 

They executed their mission, in preparing 
the way for the Saviour, and in thus expedi- 
ting his progress, to their own satisfaction, as 
well as to the satisfaction of the Saviour. 
They returned, it is said, with great joy; and 
their commission to preach, work miracles, 
and make converts, was renewed. 

We do not know in what particular regions 
they traveled afterwards. If Luke was one 
of them we know something of his labors, as 
an individual; and the same might be said of 
the labors of several other individuals who are 
also supposed to have been of the number. 
But as to their labors, two by two, in Galilee 
or elsewhere, during the remainder of the time 
while our Lord lived, the divine record is 
silent. 



178 TRAVELS OF 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Jesus sets out for Jerusalem — Passes through Samaria — The 
Samaritans oppose him — Proposal of James and John—Conduct 
of our Saviour — Anecdotes and Reflections concerning him. 

The time was now fast approaching when 
the Saviour was to be offered up a sacrifice 
for the sins of the world. This sacrifice was 
to be made in Jerusalem. It was, however, 
to be made in a particular way; and in order 
to effect it, there were to be agencies or in- 
strumentalities. 

In leaving Galilee the Saviour and his apos- 
tles, as was their more usual custom, passed 
through the province of Samaria. Coming 
near one of the Samaritan cities, on a certain 
occasion, and the apostles being a little in ad- 
vance of the Saviour and having announced 
his approach, the people would not let him 
pass. 

What was now to be done? A proposal 
was made by James and John, at which, had 
it come from Peter, we should not, in all 
probability, be much surprised; though we 
should not so soon have expected it from the 
milder and more calm sons of Zebedee. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 179 

But what was the proposal? Nothing less, 
to be sure, than to call down fire from heaven 
to destroy the opposition; something in the 
manner of Elijah in treating with the enemies 
of God at Mount Carmel. A most singular 
plan, under the gospel dispensation, to be 
formed by men so thoroughly imbued with 
the gospel spirit! It serves, it is true, to 
show that men are still but men — for some 
time, too, fallible men — even after a genuine 
work of grace has been begun in their hearts. 

Was the proposal of James and John ac- 
cepted by the Saviour? Far enough from it. 
Not only was it not accepted, he even rebuked 
the two apostles for proposing it, assuring 
them, in his plain but forcible manner, " Ye 
know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 
The Son of man is not come to destroy men's 
lives, but to save them." 

And as he spoke and felt so he acted. The 
Saviour did not say one thing by his words, 
and another by his actions. # Instead of at- 



* Most men, even of the better sort, live two lives, as it were, 
at the same time ; one external, the other internal. The internal 
is that of the feelings and thoughts, which is often hid from the 
world, and known only to God. The other is external, and may- 
or may not correspond to the internal, according as the man is 
or is not what he seems to "be. Both the external and the inter- 
nal, in our Saviour, exactly corresponded. 



180 TRAVELS OF 

tempting to force his way directly through 
the village, as some would have done, espe- 
cially with the power he possessed, he turned 
aside with his company, and passed through 
another village. Excellent lesson for us all 
to study; and in our journey through life, may 
we ever be governed by the same spirit! 

It was at about this period of the life and 
travels of our Saviour, that a lawyer came to 
him one day, and begged him to tell him what 
he ought to do to gain eternal life He was 
told by Jesus to keep the commandments. 
It was on this occasion, that, in explanation 
of the term, neighbor — Jesus having required 
him to love his neighbor — the parable or sto- 
ry of the good Samaritan was related. 

The form of prayer, given by our Saviour, 
and commonly known by the name of the 
Lord's prayer, was probably taught to the 
apostles during this journey upward to Jeru- 
salem. It seems from the general tenor of 
the sacred narrative, that the Saviour and his 
company did not attempt at this time to go 
through Samaria; but crossing the river Jor- 
dan, through Decapolis, they passed along 
the eastern side of that river. It also appears 
that he did not go directly to Jerusalem, but 



OUR SAVIOUR. 181 

lingered some time in the neighborhood of the 
Jordan, or in the more remote, eastern parts 
of the province of Judea, teaching, preaching, 
and working miracles, as before. 

One day he was invited to take dinner with 
a Pharisee. He accepted the invitation, and 
sat immediately down, without complying with 
the Jewish custom of washing. At this the 
Pharisee wondered, and even manifested a 
disposition to complain. The Saviour em- 
braced the opportunity to give to the Phar- 
isee a just view of the general character of 
the sect to which he belonged; showing him 
that they were not only superficial and proud, 
but also hypocritical. "Ye make clean," 
said he, -"the outside of the cup and platter, 
but your inward part is full of extortion and 
excess;" and then proceeded to pronounce 
upon them, for their sins, a series of woes so 
terrible as almost to make one's blood run 
cold. 

What! was he so impolite, some one may 
perhaps ask, as to come out in this way upon 
the Pharisees, just after one of their sect had 
kindly invited him to dine with him ? He 
certainly was so. He did not personally 
abuse the Pharisee, proud as he undoubtedly 
16 



182 



TRAVELS OF 



was; but he dealt plainly with him— very 
plainly. Besides, he was aiming at his nation 
more, much more, than at the particular indi- 
vidual whose hospitalities he was sharing. 

A lawyer* who was present, observed to 
the Saviour that by some of his remarks he 
seemed to cast reproach upon him and his 
brethren. The Saviour did not deny it. Nay, 
even more than this; he immediately pro- 
nounced a series of woes on the lawyers of 
the day— the Jewish lawyers, of course — and 
endeavored to show, and that with entire suc- 
cess, that they were a set of exceedingly bad 
men; and needed complete and thorough re- 
formation. 

Again the crowd of people that followed 
him became so large, as to prove not only an 
annoyance to him and his apostles, but to 
each other. It was so very great, and so ex- 
ceedingly dense and confused, that, as the 
sacred narrative expresses it, they actually 
trod upon one another. To make the con- 
fusion, if possible, still worse, the Saviour was 
perpetually assailed by all sorts of inquiries, 

* The young reader should have been informed, before now, 
that among the Jews, a lawyer was one who made it his busi- 
ness to study the moral and ceremonial law — the Mosaic law, I 
mean, and not, as with us, the law of the land merely. 



OUR SAVIOUB. 183 

wherever he went; as well as involved in all 
sorts of discussions. 

The leading object of one class was to 
catch something out of his mouth, that they 
might be able to accuse him; of another to 
be healed of infirmities, or obtain favors of 
one kind or another for friends either present 
or absent; of another to learn his doctrines; 
and of another still to obtain his advice, in 
the settlement of petty disputes and quarrels. 

All his answers, when answers were given, 
were not only adapted, with incomparable wis- 
dom, to the cases of the individual or individ- 
uals for whom they were directly intended; 
but they were also so framed as to convey 
useful moral instruction to all who heard 
them, and even, by means of the record of 
them, to us, at this distant period, as well as 
to all our race down to the end of time. 

More than even this was accomplished. 
As a general rule, the questions which were 
asked, with the replies made, and perhaps 
the conversation too which followed, were 
the introduction to other valuable instruction; 
sometimes to the extent, almost, of a sermon. 
Of course, as I have repeatedly said, it is no 
part of my purpose to insert them; not even 



184 TRAVELS OF ' 

in every instance, so much as sketches of 
them. The parable of the barren fig-tree; 
the resemblance of the kingdom of heaven to 
mustard seed, leaven, &,c, and the conversa- 
tion and event which occurred at the cure of 
the woman who had been infirm eighteenyears, 
are instances of the kind in question. 

The Saviour was still journeying slowly 
onward towards Jerusalem. The scripture 
language respecting him at this time is, " He 
went through the cities and villages, teaching, 
and journeying towards Jerusalem. " 

Some of the Pharisees who were in the 
crowd, in view of the fact that he was now 
so near Jerusalem, admonished him, one day, 
of his danger from Herod, to which the Sa- 
viour replied; ** Go ye, and tell that fox, Be- 
hold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day, 
and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be 
perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk to-day, 
and to-morrow, and the day following ; for it can- 
not be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem!'* 

What severity on the nation of which Je- 
rusalem was the proud capital! Yet this was 
not all. It was on this occasion that he ut- 
tered those terrible woes against Jerusalem 
as having stoned and killed the prophets 3 , 



OUR SAVIOUR. 185 

which no person, adult or child, who has once 
read them, can ever forget — woes, however^ 
which were literally fulfilled. 

Several of the acts of our Saviour, while on 
his present journey, were performed on the 
Sabbath. These always awakened more hos- 
tility—much more— than those which were 
performed on other days, and involved him, at 
times, in more immediate danger. These 
last, however, it was not so difficult for him to 
avoid, as the still more terrible storm which 
was rising upon him at a distance, and 
which he neither expected nor wished to es- 
cape — a storm which he had descended from 
heaven to earth in due time to encounter. 

It was on this journey — so I believe, that 
he gave forth the parable of the supper, of 
the hundred sheep, of the ten pieces of silver, 
of the repenting prodigal, of the unjust stew- 
ard, and of the unjust judge. It was also at 
the commencement of this journey that he 
met and cured the ten lepers, had a long con- 
versation with the Pharisees about marriage, 
compared the kingdom of heaven to a house- 
holder, &c, &c. 

It was also in the progress of this journey, 
and as they were approaching Jerusalem, that 
16* 



186 TRAVELS OF 

the apostles are represented as being amazed 
and also afraid. Why they were so is not 
expressly said; probably it was because the 
Saviour persevered in going up to Jerusalem^ 
in view of the dangers which were now star- 
ing him in his face, and with which they well 
knew he was perfectly acquainted. He took 
them aside, indeed, from the multitude and en- 
deavored to explain the matter to them; but 
they did not fully understand him. How could 
they? It is a mystery which we at this day r 
the wisest of us, hardly understand. Rather, 
as perhaps I ought to say, there are mysteries 
connected with the subjects of the Saviour's 
death, which to us eighteen hundred years 
later, are almost as inexplicable, as they were 
to the twelve apostles. What we do not un- 
derstand now, however, we hope to under- 
stand hereafter. "Let us then hold fast the 
profession of our faith," as James says, 
i( without wavering." 



OUR SAVIOUR. 187 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Saviour comes near Jericho— Cures two blind men — Story 
of Zaccheus — The company go on to Jerusalem — People come 
out to meet them — The multitude manifest their joy — Jesus 
rides into the city — The whole city in motion. 

The Saviour and his company were now 
near Jericho. Jericho was about twenty 
miles a little north of east from Jerusalem, on 
the road from the river Jordan to the latter 
place; and though it had fallen from its for- 
mer greatness, it was still a city of considera- 
ble size, even as late as the times of our Sa- 
viour. 

Here the Saviour cured a blind man. This 
blind man was particularly remarkable for the 
faith he manifested in the Being who had re- 
stored him. The miracle made a great noise, 
and the multitude of the people that followed 
him, whether from Jericho or elsewhere, gave 
much praise to God. 

Jesus, continuing his journey, passed 
through the city of Jericho; but as he went 
out of the city at the western gate, another 
blind man cried after him. His name was 



188 TRAVELS OF 

Bartimeus. He had heard that Jesus of Naz- 
areth was passing by; and in spite of the 
multitude, who did all they could by the force 
of persuasion, to stifle his cries, he was deter- 
mined to be heard. The Saviour called him, 
and finding his faith strong, he healed him. 
This man appears to have afterwards become 
one of his permanent followers. 

Reader, have you ever thought how impor- 
tant it is, that you should persevere in your 
endeavors to obtain of the Saviour that spirit- 
ual sight which you so greatly need? Learn, 
O learn, then, from this passage, the amazing 
importance of earnestness and importunity. 
The Saviour is the same yesterday, to-day, 
and for ever; and is as ready to-day as he was 
eighteen hundred years ago, to grant a favor- 
able answer to all who seek with earnestness 
to have their spiritual eyes opened. 

Another circumstance of importance took 
place while Jesus was at or near Jericho. 
There was a man in Jericho, whose name 
was Zaccheus, who was not only a man of 
distinction— a chief of the publicans — but he 
was also quite wealthy. He, too, like many 
other persons, was anxious to see the Saviour, 
but could not well do it on account of his small 



OUR SAVIOUR. 189 

stature, and the difficulty of passing into the 
interior of the crowd. Perhaps he was anx- 
ious to see him at first, as a matter of -mere 
curiosity; for such, in fact, was the case with 
many who, like him, became afterwards our 
Saviour's faithful disciples. 

At all events he was determined to see him. 
On the road where he expected he would 
soon pass, was a large sycamore tree. This 
tree Zaccheus was resolved to climb, and 
there, without being annoyed by the crowd, 
await patiently the Saviour's arrival. If 
some of the people of the city smiled to see as 
great a man as Zaccheus climbing a sycamore 
tree to look down upon a crowd of travelers, 
as very possibly they did, still this considera- 
tion did not deter him from executing his pur- 
pose. 

Jesus, in the midst of the dense crowd, at 
last approaches. Zaccheus's curiosity is 
gratified in beholding him. But this is not 
all. He who has in his hands the destinies 
of all men, has touched the secret springs of 
the publican's heart. Jesus bids him come 
down, and he will stop, for the day, at his 
house. Zaccheus accordingly descends from 
the tree, and receives him with great joy. 



190 TRAVELS OF 

From what followed during the interview, 
there is every reason to believe that Zaccheus 
became a converted man. One evidence of 
this is found in the fact that he forthwith gave 
away, for the benefit of the poor, half his 
property and made restoration in large meas- 
ures, for every wrong which in the prosecu- 
tion of the duties of his office he had inflicted. 
His sincerity and repentance seem also to 
have been acceptable; and to have been ap- 
proved by the Saviour. 

After leaving the house of Zaccheus and 
proceeding on his journey, Jesus related to 
his followers the interesting parable of the 
nobleman, who, on going into a far country, 
left with his servants different sums, to be ap- 
plied in trade during his absence, some hav- 
ing ten pounds, some five, some two, &,c. 
The results are well known, and need not be 
repeated; but I beg every young reader to 
study the parable and think of its meaning 
and intention. It is one of no ordinary inter- 
est and importance. 

The whole company were now rapidly ap- 
proaching Jerusalem. What must have been 
the feelings of the Saviour, knowing as he did, 
perfectly well, that his hour was now near, and 



OUR SAVIOUR. 191 

that he was traversing the road from Jericho 
to Jerusalem — this remote part of it, at least, 
— for the last time! 

Had there been any one of his whole num- 
ber, even of the twelve apostles, to sympathize 
with him, the painful circumstances of his sit- 
uation — viewing him as human merely — would 
have been somewhat mitigated. But his dis- 
ciples could none of them sympathize much 
with him, for they did not as yet fully under- 
stand him. 

The feast of the passover was at hand, and 
as very many of the Jews came together at 
Jerusalem, a short time beforehand, to purify 
themselves, the question arose among them, 
whether Jesus would or would not dare to 
make his appearance. They were the more 
in doubt, because a strict charge or decree 
had been issued by the chief priests and Phar- 
isees, to have any individual who knew where 
Jesus was give them the information, that he 
might be apprehended. 

But Jesus was now drawing near to Jerusa- 
lem, having passed with the crowd, quite be- 
yond Bethany. Many of the people at Jeru- 
salem, who were there to make preparation for 
the feast, when they heard that he was com- 



192 TRAVELS OF 

ing, took branches of palm-trees, and went 
forth from the eastern gate to meet him, cry- 
ing, "Hosanna;" and saying, " Blessed is 
the king of Israel, that cometh in the name of 
the Lord." 

As the Saviour drew still nearer to Jerusa- 
lem, having reached that part of the mount of 
Olives which is crossed by the road from 
Bethany toBethphage,he sent two of his apos- 
tles into a village that lay near by for a beast 
to ride on; for though he generally — I might 
almost say always — walked, yet was he re- 
solved to enter Jerusalem, at the present time, 
in a public, triumphant manner. The animal 
sent for was procured, at length, and when 
they had laid proper garments upon it, they 
sat Jesus thereon, and in this way he advanced 
towards the city. 

As he proceeded along the road and was 
now not far from Bethphage and in full view of 
Jerusalem, the multitude which were about 
him — many of whom in all probability still 
thought he was entering Jerusalem as their 
king — began to show their respect by throw- 
ing down their very garments in the path be- 
fore him. A larger number, however, content- 
ed themselves by cutting down small branches 



OUR SAVIOUR. 193 

of trees,* and procuring flowers and strewing 
them along the road. Anon, moreover, they 
begin to shout, and to say with a loud voice, 
t( Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord," &c. 

One reason why the people came out of the 
city to meet Jesus was, that they had heard of 
the miracle at Bethany, which had taken place 
some time before, and wished to know the 
truth of it. To this not a few of those who 
were present in the company, could testify; 
for they had witnessed it. 

The chief priests and Pharisees, quite out 
of patience with what took place, said among 
themselves, " Perceive ye how ye prevail 
nothing? Behold, the world is gone afterhim!" 
Thus it often is with those who persecute their 
fellow-men. The more they do, the more the 
mass of the people sympathize with those on 
whom the persecution falls. It is of less 
consequence to the multitude, in general, who 
are right or who are wrong than who is the 
sufferer; for their sympathies will usually go 

* These branches of trees, many of which were branches of 
the palm, were such as in those days it was customary to procure 
in honor of a victorious general or prince. They were therefore 
deemed, by the multitude, exceedingly proper on the present oc- 
casion. 

17 



194 TRAVELS OF 

with the persecuted, let their character, in 
general, be what it may.* 

Some of the Pharisees, finding they could 
make no impression by speaking to them to 
be silent, requested the Saviour himself to do 
it; " Master," they said, iS rebuke thy disci- 
ples." Though as little fond of display as 
any individual that ever lived, he did not 
choose to comply with their request. " If 
these should hold their peace," he observed, 
i( the stones would immediately cry out." 

In descending mount Olivet, to cross the 
valley of Jehosaphat, which separates that 
mountain or hill from the city of Jerusalem, 
the latter is in full view, and the prospect is 
grand and imposing. As Jesus beheld the 
city, he wept over it; and it was here that he 
predicted that destruction by the Romans 
which should not leave one stone of the tem- 
ple upon another; a prediction which was in 
due time literally fulfilled. 

Jesus at length arrives at the city gate, and 

* As feeling, mere feeling, undirected by reason, is usually 
blind, so is sympathy. We ought, indeed, to be very thankful to 
God for both of these inestimable gifts — the power to feel for our 
fellow-creatures, and the power to sympathize with them. But 
we ought to do one thing more ; which is to be very careful that 
our sympathies do not mislead us. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 195 

enters the city. So remarkable was the man- 
ner of his appearance, and so great was the 
crowd which accompanied him, that the whole 
city seemed moved; and the inquiry every 
where was, Who is this? Who can it be 
that enters our city with so much pomp, and in 
the midst of such acclamations? The multi- 
tude informed them that it was Jesus of Naza- 
reth, the individual whose fame, especially 
as a worker of miracles, had been so long 
noised among them. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Saviour curing the blind and lame — The fig-tree cursed ; 
and why — He again drives the buyers and sellers out of the 
temple — Discussions with the Scribes and Pharisees and Sad- 
ducees — The Scribes and Pharisees denounced — The benevo- 
lent widow. 

When the Saviour had fairly entered the 
city,, and all was quiet, he went into the tem- 
ple, and again commenced his miracles and 
instructions there. Among other things, he 
wrought the cure of the blind and lame who 
were brought there for the purpose. 



196 TRAVELS OF 

These cures and the cries of Hosanna to 
the Son of David, which were renewed at in- 
tervals, offended the chief priests and scribes; 
but as yet they made no attempts to seize 
him. 

At the close of the day, he repaired, with 
the twelve, to Bethany, probably to the house 
of Lazarus, Martha and Mary; and there re- 
mained for the night. * Early in the morning 
they returned again to the city. 

As they were returning — setting out, as 
perhaps they did, before breakfast — the Sa- 
viour was hungry, and seeing a fig-tree at a 
distance, he sought for fruit on it, but as it 
was not the season for fruit he found none. 

I have alluded to a barren fig-tree, in an- 
other place; but the circumstances, though 
they strongly resembled those to which I now 
refer, were yet somewhat different. It was 
in the present instance that Jesus is said to 
have appointed the tree to perish, and that it 
was found on the following day actually to 
have withered. 

Some of those persons who are ever ready 
to find fault with the Bible — its doctrines and 
its instructions — have complained of the con- 

* See page 161. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 197 

duct of our Saviour in the present instance. 
But they misunderstand the whole matter. 
The act was unquestionably emblematical of 
the decay which awaited the Jewish nation, in 
consequence of their unfaithfulness and spirit- 
ual barrenness. No serious injury can be 
said to have been done to the fig-tree, unless 
we suppose it to have been endowed with sen- 
sation; besides, had not the Being by whom 
it was created, a right to destroy it, especially 
when he could, in so doing, inculcate a valu- 
able moral lesson? 

I do not doubt that the destruction of this 
fig-tree was also intended to convey a moral 
lesson to every one of us. Here we have 
lived for years and years — some of us for tens 
or scores of years — in the vineyard of our 
Lord and Master. Have we brought forth 
the appropriate fruits of Christianity in a holy 
life and conversation? If not, is not the de- 
struction of the fig-tree emblematical of the 
destruction that awaits us? 

The Saviour now entered upon his second 
day's work in the temple. The first business 
of this morning was to clear the temple, as he 
had done on a former similar occasion, of 
business men and business. Not only did he 
17* 



198 TRAVELS OF 

stop all the traffic in lambs, doves, &c, but he 
went further, and overthrew the tables and 
seats of the traders and traffickers, and would 
not permit a vessel of any sort to be carried 
through the temple. "Is it not written," said 
he, "My house shall be called of all nations 
the house of prayer? but ye have made it a 
den of thieves. 53 

The scribes and chief priests grew more 
and more offended both with him and his doc- 
trine; but it was difficult for them to seize 
him, on account of the singular attachment 
of the mass of the people. Besides, these 
wicked men were aware of the excellence of 
his doctrine, and the holiness— the mingled 
majesty and meekness of his character, and 
awed by his personal appearance. They 
were, in fact, afraid of him. Such power and 
authority have truth and goodness, especially 
when they come from the fountain head, when 
manifested directly by their divine Author. 

Jesus and his apostles, at evening, went 
again out of the city — without doubt, to the 
house of Lazarus at Bethany. Here they prob- 
ably resorted every night till the very night 
in which, by the treachery of Judas Iscariot, 
he was betrayed to his enemies. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 199 

The next morning — the morning of the 
third day of the feast — Jesus and his apostles 
came again to Jerusalem. While walking 
about the temple, conversing and preaching, 
he was met by some of the chief priests, sent, 
no doubt, by the great Jewish council, or San- 
hedrim, to take him. They were afraid, 
however, as I have already told you, to exe- 
cute the decree of the Sanhedrim, on account 
of the people. It became necessary, there- 
fore, to contrive some sort of accusation 
against him, which would so far satisfy the 
people, that he could be taken without raising 
at once a mob, and perhaps involving even 
the temple itself in danger. 

Accordingly they employed agents to ques- 
tion and cross question him in the temple, in 
the hearing of all the people; in order that if 
he made any blunders, apparent or real, they 
might observe it. 

They asked him the following questions; 
"By what authority doest thou these things; 
and who gave thee this authority?" Jesus, 
perceiving their design to entrap him, replied 
in such a way as entirely defeated their pur- 
pose. He would answer their question, he 
said, if they would answer him a question re- 



200 TRAVELS OF 

specting the baptism of John Baptist; viz. 
Was it from heaven or of men? This ques- 
tion they were unwilling to answer; he there- 
fore refused to reply to theirs. 

But this was not all. He censured them, 
in the presence of the very multitude to whom 
they hoped to have exposed him, on account 
of their neglect of the instructions of a man 
whom they professed so strongly to regard. 

It was here that he recited that most solemn 
parable, which shows how the various dispen- 
sations of God towards the Jewish people were 
abused; how his only Son had at last been 
sent to them; and the dangers which were in 
reserve for them, if, in like manner, they re- 
jected him. They understood his meaning, 
and were greatly enraged; but, as yet, they 
dared not to destroy him. 

But they did not relinquish their original 
purpose of f£ entangling him in his talk. 55 
Many and curious were their devices for this 
purpose. Among the rest was their question, 
whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar. 
We must all have observed how dextrously 
he managed that matter; and with how much 
disappointment they gave up, for that day, 
their object. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 201 

When the Pharisees had left him, however, 
he met with a company of Sadducees. The 
Sadducees were a sect of the Jews who denied 
the doctrine of a future resurrection, a future 
state, &c, and held that there was no such 
thing as an angel or a spirit. They brought to 
him a question about marriage in the future 
state, but this the Saviour soon disposed of. 

Again the Pharisees assembled round him. 
In his turn, however, for surely his turn had 
now come, he proposed perplexing questions 
to them. They were soon glad to leave him, 
for they could not answer his questions with- 
out being caught in the very same sort of 
snare which they were perpetually laying for 
him. 

The common people, we are told several 
times, heard the Saviour gladly. It was their 
leaders, as a general thing, that made the 
trouble he had to encounter. Sometimes, in- 
deed, they contrived to enlist the multitude, 
under their banner. On the present occasion 
the Saviour addressed himself particularly to 
this class of people, but not till he had first 
cautioned the common people against them in 
the following manner. 

"The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses's 



202 TRAVELS OF 

seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you 
observe, that observe and do; but do ye not 
after their works; for they say and do not. 
For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to 
be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; 
but they themselves will not move them with 
one of their fingers. But all their works 
they do to be seen of men; they make broad 
their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of 
their garments, and love the uppermost rooms 
at feasts, and the chief seats in the syna- 
gogues, and greetings in the markets, and to 
be called of men, Rabbi! Rabbi! — But be not 
ye called Rabbi: for one is your master, even 
Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call 
no man your father upon the earth; for one is 
your Father which is in heaven. Neither be 
ye called masters; for one is your master, 
even Christ. But he that is greatest among 
you shall be your servant." 

Thus did the Saviour, for once, caution the 
multitude against their leaders. But he had 
not yet done his work. Turning to the Scribes 
and Pharisees themselves, in the presence of 
all those who chose to hear him, he denounced 
them, in an address, than which, as it has been 
justly said, " nothing more fearfully tremen- 






OUR SAVIOUR. 203 

dous is recorded in the whole history of elo- 
quence." The denunciation may be seen at 
full length in the 23d chapter of Matthew; 
from which I only make a few extracts. 

" But wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, 
and for a pretence make long prayers ; therefore 
ye shall receive the greater damnation. Wo 
unto you, Scribes, and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against 
men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither 
suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 
Wo unto you, Scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! 
for ye compass sea and land to make one 
proselyte; and when he is made, ye make 
him two fold more the child of hell than your- 
selves. Wo unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of 
the cup and the platter; but within they are 
full of extortion and excess. Wo unto you, 
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye 
are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed 
appear beautiful outward, but are within full 
of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 
Even so ye also appear outwardly righteous 
unto men; but within ye are full of hypocrisy 
and iniquity." 



204 TRAVELS OF 

The boldness, the personality, the prophet- 
like tone of this urgent yet unimpassioned re- 
buke, as it has been well observed by anoth- 
er writer, " impart to it such a power that it 
can hardly be read without trembling, and 
must have made it unspeakably awful in the 
delivery. It seems to have been listened to 
in deathlike silence. No one presumed to 
interrupt or reply to it. Scribe, Pharisee, 
Sadducee — all, all were alike, as there can 
be no doubt, overwhelmed, not only by the 
eloquence of the speaker, but by the truth 
which he uttered." 

Indeed, I cannot help thinking there was 
something in the manner of this address in- 
finitely above mere eloquence. There was 
eloquence, it is true; but there was more. 
There was holiness, holiness embodied, as it 
were — acting and reproving where reproof 
was known and felt to be deserved. No won- 
der, I again say, at the impression he was wont 
to make by these addresses. No wonder 
those who heard him sometimes said, " Never 
man spake like this man." 

Jesus now proceeded to teach the astonished 
hearers a lesson of a very different kind. As 
he sat where he could observe those who cast 






OUR SAVIOUR. 205 

their offerings into the treasury for the use 
and support of the temple, he could not help 
noticing the strange inequality with which 
these matters were managed. The rich he 
saw cast in, as it is usually called, liberally; 
yet were they not at all impoverished or in- 
convenienced by their contributions. There 
still remained, to them and their families, not 
only every necessary of life, real or supposed, 
but every luxury. At length along came a 
poor widow, with all she had in the world for 
her support in her hand. It was a single Ro- 
man farthing, or about four mills. This, 
though her all, as I have said, was also cast 
in. Our Saviour reminded those around him 
of the circumstance, and told them that while 
others had indeed given something from their 
abundance, she had given more than they all. 
She had given what was really needed to sup- 
ply the necessities of the giver; but this not 
one of them had done, notwithstanding all 
their wealth and all their supposed liberality. 
O how sadly will many men, who have all 
along through life supposed themselves char- 
itable and liberal, be disappointed, when they 
come to find that as things are estimated in 
the sight of God they have really given just 
18 



206 TRAVELS OF 

nothing at all. They have never, once in 
their lives, put themselves to any real incon- 
venience by their charities. They have de- 
nied themselves nothing; they have made no 
sacrifices. Where, then, is any evidence of 
real benevolence? Where any evidence that 
they possess the spirit of the Saviour? 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The Saviour in going to Bethany stops at mount Olivet — Views 
the city — Pronounces judgments on it, and gives his apostles 
much instruction— Foretells more particularly his death— Pro- 
ceeds to Bethany — Attends a feast there — The box of ointment 
— Judas Iscariot — His character and conduct. 

*One evening, as the Saviour and his apostles 
were proceeding as usual to their lodging 
place in Bethany, having crossed the brook 
Kidron which runs through the valley of Je- 
hosaphat, and ascended the mount of Olives, 
where from a point, somewhat elevated, there 
is a fine view of Jerusalem, they sat down 
awhile to take a survey of this magnificent 
but devoted city. 

While sitting there, Peter, James and John 
came to the Saviour, and without intending the 



OUR SAVIOUR. 207 

rest should hear what was said, asked him to 
tell them when the destruction of the city and 
of the Jewish policy should take place, and 
what would be the sign of the Saviour's com- 
ing, for that purpose, and of the end of the 
world. They believed, most undoubtedly, 
that the Messiah, whom they had so long ex- 
pected, was to establish a new dispensation or 
age, upon the introduction of which the old 
one, or that of Moses, would cease. 

The answer of the Saviour to these queries 
is of very great length, and cannot here be 
repeated. It is sufficient perhaps that I give 
a mere outline of it; for if the reader has a 
clear idea of the face of the country about 
Jerusalem and of the relative position of that 
city and mount Olivet, and will picture to 
himself, by aid of a lively imagination, the 
circumstances, under which the remarks of 
the Saviour were made, he will hardly need 
any thing else to deepen the impression made 
by what the Saviour uttered. 

He warned them, in the first place, not to 
be deceived by the false Christs or Messiahs 
who would arise among them. In the second 
place, he foretold the commotions and wars 
which would take place before the destruction 



208 TRAVELS OF 

of Jerusalem should be effected; and in the 
third place, he prophesied, with the exactness 
almost of an historian, respecting the events 
which should take place at the time of the 
siege and desolation of the city of Jerusalem 
by the Roman army. 

He urged them, moreover, to be prepared 
for the event. To deepen their impressions 
of the importance of faithfulness, fidelity and 
perseverance in Christian duty, as the most 
important preparation for that great day of 
national trouble, as well as for all the smaller 
troubles of life, he gave them many striking 
admonitions, and interesting and instructive 
parables, among the last of which was the 
parable of the ten virgins. Finally, he passed 
from the destruction of Jerusalem and a due 
preparation for that great event, to the de- 
struction of the world in which we live and 
the judgment of the last day; and spoke of 
the proper Christian preparation for a scene 
so awfully tremendous and so unspeakably 
important. 

I have been the more inclined to give this 
outline, because it is believed to have been 
his last public discourse. Here on the west- 
ern side of mount Olivet, but near its summit, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 209 

in the midst of his apostles and perhaps many 
more individuals — for though the conversation 
began with only three of them, I cannot think 
the rest were long absent — here, I say, on 
that hill, which he had so many times ascend- 
ed and descended, and in full view of the city 
for which he had labored and prayed and 
wept so much and so long, and in the heart of 
which he was so soon to bleed for its millions 
and the other millions of the world in all ages 
and nations; here, in full view of Jerusalem, 
I say, its strong walls, its splendid palaces, 
and its magnificent temple illuminated and 
perhaps gilded by the lingering rays of the 
setting sun, the Saviour of mankind uttered 
his last public counsels before his crucifixion. 
Here was heard from the lips of him " who 
spake as never man spake," his last fearful 
warning, and to a guilty nation and an impen- 
itent world, his most terrible predictions of 
judgments here or hereafter. 

The Saviour's discourse being ended, he 
reminded his apostles that it was now but two 
days to the feast of the passover, at which 
time he should be betrayed and put to death. 
And yet, in spite of his frequent admonitions, 
it appears from circumstances which will be 
18* 



210 TRAVELS OF 

noticed hereafter, that as yet they but imper- 
fectly understood him. 

But as night was now drawing on, they 
proceeded again to Bethany. In the evening 
they were invited by one Simon a leper, as 
he was called, to a public feast or supper. 
Simon's hospitality was accepted, and Jesus 
and his company attended. Who the other 
guests were, except two or three, is not so 
certain; though it is probable from what fol- 
lowed this event, that a considerable number 
of Simon's Jewish friends were present. 

I have alluded to two or three of the guests. 
These were Lazarus and his sisters. For 
though it was not customary, in that country 
and in those days, for females to sit at the 
same table with males, yet they sometimes 
served, as it was called: and on the present 
occasion the honor of serving was committed 
to Martha. 

Nor was Mary unoccupied. For while they 
were in the midst of the supper, she came 
boldly to Jesus with a box of very costly oint- 
ment; and having broken the seal, she poured 
the contents at once on his head; at the same 
time anointing his feet with it, and wiping 
them with her hair. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 211 

This method of anointing would not seem 
strange to us if we knew the customs of the 
country and of the times. For anointing with 
oil was quite common, though it was not usual 
to do it with such costly ointment. The box 
of ointment, it is said, might have been sold 
for three hundred pence, that is for above forty 
dollars. 

Who will wonder,then,to hear that the time- 
serving and money-loving Judas Iscariot was 
ready to complain of it as a waste? It might 
have been sold, he said, and given to the poor. 
True; but so might many of the things they 
were perpetually using; and some of those, in 
all probability, of which Judas himself was in 
the daily use. Christ would not — and I would 
not, of course— be found justifying prodigality 
or waste. But is there not something of in- 
consistency in crying out against an occa- 
sional anointing of the living body of one so 
eminent and precious as the Saviour, while 
we are daily contributing to a far greater 
waste on living as well as dead bodies? 

The truth, however, is, that this plea in be- 
half of the poor — when any thing is applied in 
a manner which may seem to us even a little 
extravagant — is not made chiefly because we 



212 TRAVELS OF 

are so much opposed to a little waste; but for 
other reasons. Give us but the handling of 
the money or property thus wasted, as we call 
it, and though we might not handle it in the 
same way, it is ten to one but we should spend 
it in a way quite as selfish. And so it was, no 
doubt, with Judas. He was a selfish man, 
like other selfish men; only, as we have rea- 
son to believe, a little more distinguished for 
his selfishness than most of us. 

The Saviour defended the conduct of Mary, 
in this instance, until the complainers were 
at length silent. But Judas, though silent, 
was not satisfied. He was, as I have said 
again and again, the treasurer of the compa- 
ny; and though they do not seem to have 
been at this time in immediate want, he would 
gladly have replenished the purse he carried 
with a sum of money, which, for those days, 
would have been quite considerable. Nor 
was this all; he was anxious, in all probability, 
to gratify himself to a greater extent than their 
small funds would at all times enable him to 
do, even with the addition of that species of 
pilfering with which one of the Evangelists 
charges him. Nor is it at all improbable that 
the remarks of our Saviour, on this occasion. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 213 

instead of doing him good, as they ought to 
have done, served to urge him onward in a 
course of selfishness and dishonesty, till it 
ended in treason or in the betrayal of his con- 
stant companion — his professed [friend- — his 
Lord and Master. Good instruction and 
counsel, if they do not prove a savor of life, 
always become a savor of death to us all. 

And now it was that Judas was ready, by 
and with the assistance of the grand adversa- 
ry of all good — the arch traitor against Heav- 
en — to hearken to a proposal of the wicked 
leaders of the Jews, to give up Jesus into their 
hands. The man who has begun a course of 
wickedness, if it is only a little stealing now 
and then, knows not where the matter will 
end. 

The leaders of the Jews had just now as- 
sembled together to concert new plans for se- 
curing Jesus, the old ones, it seems, having 
failed. Just at this time Judas appeared 
among them, and inquired how much they 
would give him to deliver the Saviour up into 
their hands. A bargain was soon struck. 
The sum agreed on was thirty pieces of silver; 
a little more, perhaps, than fifteen dollars. * 

* About $15|, to be exact; so it seems from the authority of 
Calmet. 



214 TRAVELS OF 

A small sum, indeed, for delivering up his 
and their and our Lord and Master and Re- 
deemer! 

From this time forth Judas watched for an 
opportunity, when the multitude was absent, 
to give up the Saviour to those who for aught 
he knew were to be his murderers. Was 
there ever wickedness so premeditated? Was 
there ever a traitor so foul? Was there ever 
a man so deserving of being execrated? To 
whom is not the very name Judas (and espe- 
cially the two names together, Judas Iscariot) 
an offence? Who would venture to call a 
member of his family by this name ? At all 
events, who has ever done it? 



CHAPTER XX. 

Preparation for the Passover — Manner of keeping it — Institution 
of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper — The Saviour washes 
the apostles' feet — Adventure with Peter— Judas leaves the 
company — Discourses of the Saviour — They depart from Jeru- 
salem — Go to the garden of Gethsemane— What took place 
there. 

The day of the passover was now rapidly 
approaching, and Jesus began to make prepa- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 215 

ration for it. He wished to keep it by him- 
self, having none present at the time but his 
twelve apostles. The Passover, as you are 
aware, must be eaten in Jerusalem. Accord- 
ingly, he sent Peter and John from Bethany 
to procure a room and make the necessary 
preparation. 

The circumstances of the journey of those 
two disciples, though somewhat singular, it is 
unnecessary for me to relate. I must confine 
myself, as much as possible, to incidents and 
events more directly connected with the Sa- 
viour himself. It is only needful to observe 
that they secured a large upper room, already 
well furnished for their purpose; and that 
they immediately made ready the unleavened 
cakes, the lamb, the herbs, &c, usual on such 
occasions. 

In the evening, when the proper hour had 
arrived, for commencing this feast — to the 
Jews so sacred — Jesus and his apostles pro- 
ceeded to the place made ready for them by 
Peter and John, and there sat down together 
at the table. 

The first thing to be eaten — to comply 
with the customs of the Jews — was the 
bread and bitter herbs. After these came 



216 TRAVELS OF 

the lamb. Or to be a little more particular, 
— it was customary for the master of the fam- 
ily about to celebrate the passover — who in 
the present case was the Saviour — to begin 
the feast with a cup of wine; which having 
blessed in a solemn manner, he passed among 
the guests at the table. After this, he washed 
his hands, and then proceeded to other duties. 

When the master and the rest of the com- 
pany had tasted the bread and herbs, it was 
usual for some younger person present to ask 
the meaning of the peculiarities of this feast 
of the passover. After an explanation of the 
same, the master of the feast arose, took 
another cup of wine, and again washed his 
hands. 

The eating of the lamb, which properly 
constituted the feast of the passover, was fol- 
lowed by another cup of wine. This was suc- 
ceeded by serious but friendly conversation; 
after which was a fourth cup, followed by a 
psalm of praise, which ended the solemnity. 

In the present instance, it appears that at 
the time when it was usual for the lamb to be 
eaten, the Saviour gave to each of his apos- 
tles, as they were collected around him, a 
piece of bread, either in place of a piece of 



OUR SAVIOUR. 217 

the lamb, or immediately after it; and the 
wine which he drank and distributed as the 
sacrament, corresponded to the fourth cup of 
the Passover. 

In any event here was the origin of the 
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper — which con- 
sists essentially in receiving bodily sustenance 
in a social manner, in remembrance of the 
sufferings and death of Him whose body, the 
day after he last partook of the Passover at 
Jerusalem, was broken on the cross to atone 
for the sins of a perishing world; and when- 
ever this sacrament is partaken of, to the end 
of the world, it should bring these facts into 
grateful remembrance. 

It has been already mentioned that the 
apostles, in one or two instances, were found 
by the Saviour at variance in regard to prece- 
dence. Here, strange to say, at this very 
supper, or rather at one of the intervals of 
the supper, the same old strife, which should 
be the greatest, again recurred. To effect a 
final and complete cure of these dissensions, 
and especially to present, as it were, his dying 
testimony against them, the Saviour, on rising 
from supper at its close, adopted the following 
method. 

19 



218 TRAVELS O F 

Laying aside his upper or loose garment, 
and fastening a towel around him, he pro- 
ceeded, without apology and without much 
ceremony, to wash the feet of his disciples, 
and to wipe them afterward with his towel. 
It was not long before he came to Peter. 
But Peter disliking the idea of having the Sa- 
viour perform so menial an office for him, ex- 
pressed his surprise. "Lord," said he, "dost 
thou wash my feet?" The reply of Jesus, 
that though he might not be able to under- 
stand just now, the meaning of the ceremony, 
he would probably understand it better after- 
ward, did not satisfy him. He even refused 
to suffer the Saviour to proceed. This called 
forth the following appropriate and just reply; 
"If I wash thee not," replied the Saviour, 
" thou hast no part with me." 

This was enough for Peter. Quick as 
thought, the whole current of feeling was 
changed. He was not only willing to have 
his feet washed, since it concerned his salva- 
tion, but also his hands and his head. The 
Saviour assured him that no more was neces-* 
sary than to wash his feet in order to answer 
every purpose which he himself had intended 
by the ceremony. 






OUR S AVI OUR. 219 

The purpose of the Saviour was to teach 
his disciples humility; the lesson too was a 
beautiful one, and we cannot doubt made its 
intended impression. The ceremony was fol- 
lowed by quite a long and interesting discourse 
from our Saviour, explaining his object, and 
giving his apostles much collateral and use- 
ful instruction. 

During the supper, the Saviour also fore- 
told again his betrayal, and almost pointed 
out to them his very betrayer. But either 
they did not very fully understand him even 
now, or else they could not fully believe that 
Judas was capable of such great and aggrava- 
ted wickedness. 

But Judas was now ready for any thing, 
however diabolical in its nature, provided it 
would accomplish his purposes. He was bent 
on having the money which had been prom- 
ised him; and as is the usual effect of money, 
in a greater or less degree, even the thinking 
of it both blinded and hardened him. 

The supper now fairly ended, Judas, who 
was evidently impatient to accomplish his 
schemes, left the company at the table, and 
went out. Where he went we shall see in 
another place. 



220 T K A V E L S OF 

As soon as he was gone, the Saviour pre-* 
dieted again his own speedy removal, and ob- 
served that he should so make his departure 
that they could not follow him. Peter in- 
quired why they could not follow him; ob- 
serving that in so far as danger was con- 
cerned, there was no difficulty; for he was 
ready, for one, to follow him wherever he 
went, and even lay down his life for him. 
Yet, notwithstanding Peter's great confidence, 
the Saviour who knew his heart better than 
he himself did, expressed his doubts. Nay, 
he even assured him, that instead of carrying 
out into action the boldness he professed, the 
cock would not crow twice, the next morning, 
before he would three times utterly deny him. 

In another conversation, a little while af- 
terwards, Peter expressed the same confi- 
dence as before, only in different words; 
"Lord, 5 * said he, " I am ready to go with thee 
both to prison and to death." Jesus assured 
him he was mistaken, and repeated to him the 
same prediction in regard to his speedy denial 
of him. But Peter could not believe it. He 
probably felt somewhat as king Hazael had 
done long before, who said, when his wicked- 
ness was foretold, Is thy servant a dog, that 
he should do this great sin? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 221 

The supper and the conversation seem to 
have been concluded by a hymn, after which 
they all soon went — Judas excepted — towards 
Mount Olivet. It was late, however, ere they 
went — as some suppose, near midnight. 

It was probably at the close of the supper, 
and while they were going to Mount Olivet, 
that the Saviour gave those interesting and 
affecting discourses which we find in the gos- 
pel according to John, and which, for affec- 
tionate interest and benevolent regard, it is 
beyond the art of man to imitate. The whole 
was concluded by a remarkable prayer. 

By this time they were arrived at the brook 
Kidron, in the valley east of the city. But 
whither were they going? The evening was 
somewhat advanced, and would they go, thus 
late, to Bethany? There was no special ob- 
jection, so far as I know, to their going there 
at this hour, had they chosen to do so. But 
this was not their object. The Saviour was 
going to the garden of Gethsemane,* a little 
beyond the valley, at the foot of Mount Olivet; 
and the eleven apostles — Judas now fyeing on 

* This pleasant little garden— apparently a chosen retreat of 
our Saviour— contained, it is thought, about three-fourths of an 
acre of ground j and besides shrubbery had in it many olive trees. 

19* 



222 travels or 

another errand— were following him ; perhaps 
without knowing or presuming to ask what 
his object was. 

As they were walking along, and before 
they had reached the garden, the Saviour 
foretold how they would that very night be 
" offended" on account of him, and would de- 
sert him; and alluded again to his crucifixion. 
"But," added he, " after I am risen again, 
I will go before you into Galilee." 

Here again Peter, with his usual self-con- 
fidence, repeated his strong assertions of loy- 
alty to his Master; saying, that though all 
the rest of the company should be offended 
on account of him, yet he should not. It was 
on this occasion that Jesus, for the third time, 
repeated his prediction of Peter's denial of 
him, and that Peter as strongly as ever- — and 
more so— affirmed he would sooner die than 
be guilty of such conduct. The rest of the 
apostles also assured their Master, with almost 
as much confidence as Peter did, of their 
entire loyalty, firm adherence and faithful 
affection,. 

They arrive, at length, at the garden, and 
enter it; but no sooner had they entered it, 
than the Saviour separated the company into 



OUR SAVIOUR* 223 

two parties; the one of four persons, the oth* 
er of eight. The latter were requested to 
stay near the entrance of the garden, where 
they then were; but the other — who were Pe- 
ter, James, John and himself— went farther. 
Perhaps you will remember that these three 
apostles were the very men w r ho had been se-* 
lected on a former occasion, to be witnesses, 
on the mount, of his remarkable transfigura- 
tion, 

As he proceeded with them to a more re- 
mote part of the garden, he began to show 
symptoms of great sorrow, and even of the 
keenest anguish. He said to his disciples, 
"My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even 
unto death ;" bidding them at the same time, 
to continue where they were and watch. 
Pray for yourselves, moreover, he added, 
that ye enter not into temptation. 

For himself he proceeded a little farther 
still, and then placed himself on his face in 
the usual Eastern attitude of devotion. How 
long he remained in this posture, we are not 
told. We are only informed that while there, 
he uttered among others, the following short 
but remarkable prayer; "Abba, Father, all 
things are possible unto thee; take away this 



224 TRAVELS OP 

cup from me; nevertheless, not what I will, 
but what thou wilt." 

When the prayer was ended, he rose from 
the place where he was, and returned to the 
three apostles, who, notwithstanding his strict 
command that they should watch with him, 
were fast asleep. " Simon," said he, address- 
ing himself, as he was apt to do, to Peter — 
perhaps because he was always among the 
most forward of them to promise well, and 
indeed for the most part to perform well, also 
— " Simon, sleepest thou? What! could ye 
not watch with me one hour?" 

And was it not strange that when they saw 
his agony, they could not keep awake longer? 
Surely but little time had elapsed after his 
departure, ere he found them in this condition. 
It could not have been an hour, or any thing 
like it. 

The Saviour put them to a further trial. 
About to leave them again, in the same man- 
ner, he repeated his exhortations to them to 
watch and pray against that temptation, 
which, whether they understood it or not, was 
speedily coming on them. 

When he had once more sufficiently cau- 
tioned them against sleeping, he went away 



OUR SAVIOUR. 225 

and prayed in the same manner as before; 
but again, though only absent a short time, he 
found them on his return as sound asleep as 
ever. 

There is an exhausted condition of the hu- 
man frame in which it is next to impossible 
to refrain from sleep, even when the will is 
most resolute to refrain from it. Sorrow, in- 
stead of diminishing this tendency, sometimes 
increases it. Such, we may reasonably sup- 
pose, was the condition of Peter and James 
and John, in the present instance. 

Having roused them once more, he retired 
for prayer, in the former manner, and with 
nearly if not exactly the same form of words. 
When he came to pronounce the last part 
of his prayer, viz., " nevertheless, not my 
will, but thine be done," " there appeared to 
him," so says the Evangelist Luke, " an an- 
gel from heaven strengthening him," as well 
as encouraging and animating him to endure 
the struggle. 

Yet, notwithstanding all this assistance from 
on high, his agony, while he prayed, was ex- 
ceedingly great. So intense was it, that the 
perspiration of his body stood upon his skin 
in great drops, like drops of blood — and some 



226 TRAVELS OF 

even suppose from the record of the Evange- 
list, that he actually perspired blood itself. 
Be this as it may have been, we have every 
evidence that his agony was excessive, be- 
yond human conception, and almost beyond 
endurance. 

He rose from prayer at length the third 
time; and again, the third time, repaired to 
the place where he had left his three disci- 
ples. Finding them still fast locked in the 
arms of sleep, he did not at first attempt to 
rouse them, but said ; " Sleep on now, and 
take your rest; the hour is come; and the 
Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sin- 
ners." Recalling himself, as it were, how- 
ever, he said to them, "Rise, let us be going; 
behold, he is at hand that doth betray me." 
And so it proved, as we shall see in the next 
chapter. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 227 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Gethsemane — Judas and his band arrive there — Jesus betrayed 
and seized — The apostles propose resistance — The Saviour re- 
fuses — Peter's resistance — Rebuke of Jesus — He is bound and 
taken to Jerusalem — Brought before Caiaphas, and the Sanhe- 
drim — The apostles, except John, make'their escape — Jesus is 
tried — They pretend to convict him of blasphemy — He is de- 
livered to Pilate — End of Judas — Jesus sent to Herod — Re- 
turned to Pilate — Pilate scourges him — Gives him over to the 
soldiers — Pilate's wife's dream — Examination of the Saviour 
— Pilate wishes to liberate him — Finally gives him up, but pro- 
tests his own innocence. 

I have already said that the garden of 
Gethsemane was a chosen retreat of our Sa- 
viour and his apostles. This, Judas well 
knew; but whether he knew with certainty, 
that Jesus was there at this time, I cannot 
say. Perhaps it was his intention to pursue 
him, if necessary, as far as the house of Laz- 
arus at Bethany; thinking it best, however, 
to call at places on the road which Jesus was 
accustomed to frequent, and among the rest 
at the garden of Gethsemane. 

In any event he came there; and his arri- 
val in the garden was at the very moment 
when the Saviour came, the third and last 



228 TRAVELS OF 

time, to his three sleeping apostles. But Ju- 
das came not alone. He had with him a band 
of officers and soldiers sent from the chief 
priests; and though it was full moon at this 
season, and, of course, not remarkably dark, 
yet to make sure of finding him, they were well 
fitted out with lamps and torches; and to be 
certain of securing him, should there be any 
resistance from him or his companions, they 
were furnished with weapons. 

It was while the Saviour was in the very 
act of speaking to his three companions, that 
his assailants arrived. It seems that Judas 
had given them, for signal, a kiss, saying, 
Whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he 
whom you seek; hold him fast. 

Suffer me tointroduce here, by way of com- 
ment on Judas the betrayer of the Saviour, 
the following beautiful extract from Abbott's 
Corner Stone: 

"The wretched man went at midnight to 
the place of rendezvous; and while he and 
the soldiers who were to accompany him, 
were receiving their directions, and forming 
their plans in the city, the Saviour was bend- 
ing under the burden of those intolerable but 
mysterious sufferings which have thrown an 



OUR SAVIOUR. 229 

eternal gloom over the garden of Gethsemane. 
Upon what a scene the moon, which was al- 
ways full at the time of the Jewish passover, 
must have looked down, at this sad hour! 

" It is midnight; the moon is high, and 
the streets of Jerusalem are deserted and 
still, except when the footsteps of some 
solitary passenger re-echo a moment upon 
the ear, and then die away. Beyond the 
walls, even deeper silence and solitude reign; 
every bird is at its rest, and in the still night 
air we can hear the brook murmuring 
through the valley. In the garden, on the 
other side, too, the consecrated place of pray- 
er, every zephyr is hushed, every leaf is in 
repose, and the moon is silvering, with its 
cold light, the outlines of the foliage, and 
brightening on the distant hills. 

"It was midnight — the hour of stillness 
and rest — but yet the whole scene was not 
one of repose. The scattered disciples of 
Jesus waited for their Master, who was bend- 
ing down in his lonely retreat, under the 
weight of suffering which we can neither ap- 
preciate nor comprehend. And in some lurk- 
ing-place in the silent city, the rough soldiers 
were lighting their lanterns, and girding on 
20 



230 TRAVELS OF 

their weapons, and forming their plans. Pres- 
ently they issue forth, and pass on from street 
to street, now in light, and now in shadow, 
stealing along probably in careful silence, 
lest they might arouse some of the people 
and provoke the interference which their 
masters dreaded. At this moment, what a 
spectacle must the whole scene have present- 
ed to any one who could have looked down 
upon the whole. The dark betrayer, walking 
in advance of his band with cautious steps, 
half fearing, and half rejoicing in his anticipa- 
ted success — the careless soldiers following, 
to execute a work which they probably did not 
distinguish from any other similar deed which 
they often performed — the disciples, scattered 
through the valley, and in the garden, some 
probably anxious and unhappy, and others 
sunk in sleep — Jesus Christ struggling in 
solitude, under the pressure of sufferings 
which overwhelmed him with indescribable 
agitation, and almost unnerved his soul. 
There must have been something uncommon 
in an anguish, which could carry the Saviour's 
fortitude to its utmost limit. On the cross he 
was calm." 

When Judas and his company of officers 



OUR SAVIOUR. 231 

approached the Saviour, the traitor, with the 
most consummate impudence and treachery, 
came forward and kissed him, calling him at 
the same time, in his usual friendly but affect- 
ed way, Master! Of what is the human heart 
composed! 

Jesus asked him several questions. ' 'Friend, 
wherefore art thou come?" " Judas, betray- 
est thou the Son of man with a kiss?" &,c. 
Addressing himself, moreover, to the whole 
company who assailed him, he said unto them, 
"Whom seek ye?" To the questions put to 
the perfidious Judas, no answer was given. 
To the question, "Whom seek ye?" they re- 
plied, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said 
unto them, " I am he." 

No sooner, however, had he said this than 
they drew back from him and fell to the 
ground as quickly as if it had been the effects 
of lightning. But soon recovering again, they 
renewed their efforts and approached him 
once more, when once more he repeated the 
inquiry, "Whom seek ye?" The answer was 
still the same; "Jesus of Nazareth," "I 
have told you," said the Saviour, "that I am 
he; if, therefore, ye seek me, let these go 
their way," alluding no doubt to his compan- 
ions, the apostles. 



232 TRAVELS OF 

It is not likely that they cared to seize the 
apostles. Their great object was to secure 
our Saviour; and to do it in such a manner 
that the multitude of the common people — the 
rabble, as no doubt they were called at that 
time — would not be excited. I have already 
told you that mobs were common in those 
days as they are now; and that rulers and 
other great men were as cautious about stir- 
ring them up, as they now are. 

The Saviour, in short, was taken. This 
roused the apostles. It was an event which, 
notwithstanding so many warnings, they seem 
not to have expected; and supposing, per- 
haps, that Jesus would, by his miraculous 
power, make up in strength what they wanted 
in numbers, proposed resistance. "Lord," 
they said, <c shall we smite with the sword?" 
But this Jesus would not permit. 

Is it surprising to any of my readers how 
these individuals came to carry swords? 
Apostles of the Prince of peace as they were; 
disciples of one who never used any other 
sword but the sword of the Spirit, why should 
they go about armed; and, above all, why 
should the Saviour permit such a thing? 

The Saviour took men, no doubt, as he 



OUR SAVIOUR. 233 

found them. I mean to say that he did so in 
some good measure. Finding his apostles in 
the habit of wearing a particular dress, and 
also of carrying a particular kind of weapon 
for defence, he did not at once make a war of 
offence on that particular habit. He sought, 
rather, to establish principles, which should 
lead, ultimately, to the removal of this and of 
every other improper or unchristian practice. 

The apostles, however, excited and perhaps 
enraged— for they were unquestionably men 
of like passions with ourselves, especially Pe- 
ter — did not wait for an answer. Peter's 
sword was already drawn from its scabbard, 
and his strong muscular arm had already lev- 
elled a blow with it. The blow fell upon 
Malchus, a servant in the family of Caiaphas, 
the Jewish high priest, and cut off his right ear. 

The Saviour seeing to what an extent things 
were going, now interfered. He not only put 
a stop to all resistance, but ordered their 
swords to be sheathed at once; and, in addi- 
tion, he healed miraculously the wound which 
had been already made; assuring them that, 
as a general fact, they who are most ready 
to take up arms against their fellow-men are 
among the first to fall by them. 
20* 



234 TRAVELS OF 

He then turned to Peter, whom we may 
suppose to be somewhat amazed at this dec- 
laration, on the part of our Saviour, of the 
doctrine of non-resistance; and addressed 
him thus; " Thinkest thou that I cannot now 
pray to my Father, and he shall presently 
give me more than twelve legions* of angels? 
But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, 
that thus it must be? The cup which my 
Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?'* 

I have no doubt that Peter and the rest of 
the apostles were satisfied with this statement 
and these questions of our Saviour; and that 
they submitted, with comparative cheerful- 
ness, to what seemed to be the will of high 
Heaven. 

The reader will indulge me in one more 
extract from Abbott's Corner Stone: 

"It seems to me that the history of the 
world cannot exhibit an act of higher, nobler 
courage, than our Saviour performed, in com- 
ing down to meet Judas and the armed band, 
the night before he was crucified. Just im- 

* A legion of Roman soldiers consisted of various numbers at 
different times j but at the time of our Saviour is supposed to 
have consisted of six thousand men. Twelve legions of angels 



OUR SAVIOUR. 235 

agine the scene. On the eastern side of Je- 
rusalem, without the walls, there is a sudden 
descent to a stream, which flows through the 
valley. x4cross this stream, on the rising 
ground beyond, was a quiet and solitary place, 
where Jesus very often went for retirement 
and prayer. He understood, very well, his ap- 
proaching torture and crucifixion; hehadtaken 
the evening before his last sad farewell of his 
disciples, and with the day of agony and death 
before him, he could not sleep. It was a cold 
night, but a sheltered dwelling in the city was 
no place for him. He asked his three dearest 
friends to go with him that he might once 
more cross the valley, and for the last time 
take his midnight walk upon the Mount of Ol- 
ives. Oppressed with anxiety and sorrow, he 
fell down alone before God and prayed, that 
he might be spared what was to come. He 
had gone on firmly thus far, but now his heart 
almost failed him. Six long hours of indescri- 
bable agony seemed too much for the frail 
human powers which must necessarily bear 
the whole. He prayed God to spare him, if 
it could be possible. 

"But it could not. His strength failed 
under the exhaustion produced by his mental 



236 TRAVELS OF 

sufferings, and by the more than death-like 
perspiration, which the night air, so cold at 
this season that even the hardy soldiers need- 
ed fire, could not chill. Mysterious help 
from heaven restored him a little, but though 
refreshed by heavenly sympathy, we must 
remember that it was human powers that had 
this trial to bear. 

" At last there is heard through the trees, 
at a distance down the valley, the sound of 
approaching voices. Lights are seen too; 
and now and then a glittering weapon. They 
are coming for him. Fly! innocent sufferer,fly ! 
Turn to the dark solitudes behind you, and 
fly for your life! No. The struggle is over. 
The Saviour, collected and composed, rises 
and walks on to meet the very swords and 
spears sent out against him! We must re- 
member that there was no one to encourage 
him, nobody to defend him, or to share his 
fate. It was in the darkness and stillness of 
night, the very hour of fear and dread; and 
the approach of those whose dim forms and 
suppressed voices arrested his attention, was 
the signal not of danger but of death— nor of 
death merely, but of protracted and unutter- 
able torture. Still he arose and went forth to 



OUR SAVIOUR. 237 

meet them. - Whom seek ye?' said he, — 
' 1 am he. 5 We have read this story so often, 
that it has lost its impression upon us; but 
could we come to it afresh, and really appre- 
ciate the gloomy, dreadful circumstances of 
the scene, we should feel that the deserted 
Saviour, in coming down under these circum- 
stances, to meet the torches and the weapons, 
which were to light and guard him back to 
such enemies and to such a death, exhibits 
the loftiest example of fortitude which the 
world has ever seen. There was less noise, 
less parade, less display, than at Thermopylae 
or Trafalgar; but for real sublimity of cour- 
age, the spectacle of this solitary and defence- 
less sufferer, coming at midnight to meet his 
betrayer and his band, beams with a moral 
splendor which never shone on earth before, 
and will probably never shine again." 

But Jesus was bound as a criminal, and 
conveyed from Gethsemane to Jerusalem. 
As they went along, he expressed his surprise 
that instead of taking him when he was, as it 
were, completely in their power, they should 
come out against him in the night, as against 
a thief, armed with swords and staves. But 
this, he added, must be so, in order that the 
Scriptures may be fulfilled. 



238 TRAVELS OF 

Notwithstanding the condition which the 
Saviour insisted on, when he surrendered to 
the officers, viz., that his companions should 
be permitted to retire unmolested, it appears 
from the Scripture narrative that they did not 
leave him immediately. Perhaps they fol- 
lowed him well nigh to the gates of Jerusa- 
lem; though this is only conjecture. Be it, 
however, as it may, they finally forsook him; 
the bold and courageous Peter among the rest. 

The Saviour was taken first to the house 
of Annas, the father of the high priest Caia- 
phas, who without unloosing him, sent him to 
Caiaphas. Here were assembled the Jewish 
Sanhedrim, consisting, as I might have told you 
before, of seventy-two of the great men of 
their nation, into whose presence the Saviour 
was introduced. 

It should not be forgotten, that it was now 
late in the evening — probably midnight or la- 
ter, as I have already said — an hour when the 
Sanhedrim ought not to have been holding a 
session. Did they not know what was going 
on? Was it not a part of their general plan 
to have the trial in the night, lest, if it were 
done at any other hour, the public sympathies 
might be enlisted in the Saviour's favor? Is 



OUR SAVIOUR. 239 

not the night, usually, the season for vice 
and crime? 

It has been said that the apostles forsook 
him and fled, before he entered Jerusalem. 
One of them, however, as it appears from the 
Scripture narrative, soon relented and re- 
turned, and not only returned, but followed 
the Saviour into the court house or palace 
where he was to be tried, and sat there with 
him, during the trial. 

Now who should this bold disciple be? 
Was it Peter, who had been so ready, as he 
said, to die with his Master, rather than deny 
or desert him, and who had even drawn his 
sword in his defence? Far from it. It was 
a man of very different character. It was 
the mild, lovely John; the most timid, as we 
should naturally judge — that is, constitution- 
ally so — of the whole number of the apostles. 

Peter, however, could not forget Jesus, 
although he had not so much boldness, in the 
hour of trial, as his companion John. He 
followed; but it was at a distance. The trial 
was in the palace of the high priest. Peter 
did not venture to come nearer than the door. 
He did not dare to enter, at least at first. 
At that hour of the night, even as late in the 



240 TRAVELS OF 

season as it now was, the air of Palestine is 
sometimes quite chilly, and Peter seems to 
have shivered with the cold. John, discov- 
ering him, brought him into the hall where 
the servants were; who had a fire, and he sat 
there for some time. 

Meanwhile the Saviour was undergoing an 
examination before Caiaphas. The examina- 
tion was short but direct; and the answers of 
the Saviour equally so. In one instance, his 
plainness was construed by the excited officers 
into disrespect, and he received a blow with 
the hand. 

Attempts were made to induce men to 
swear falsely against him; but for a time 
without success. It is true, indeed, that men 
were not wanting to testify; but their testimo- 
ny did not agree. 

At last they pretended to convict him of 
blasphemy; not indeed by witnesses, but by 
his own confession. Hereafter, the Saviour 
had told them, they should see the Son of man 
sitting on the right hand of power, and com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven. This, Caiaphas 
said, was blasphemy; and on inquiring of the 
Sanhedrim what they thought about it, they 
decided at once that it was truly so, and that 
he was guilty of death, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 241 

And now it was, that they began to treat 
him with every species of rudeness and in- 
sult. They spit in his face; they buffeted 
him, and some of them mocked him. Among 
other things which were done, they blindfold- 
ed him, and after having done so, they struck 
him on the face; and, as if to make light of 
his claims as a prophet, as well as to gratify 
their own spirit of revenge, they bade him 
prophesy who it was that struck him. No 
species of abuse, so far at least as language 
was concerned, was too bad to heap upon 
him. The servants, even, were permitted to 
come into the palace, and to strike him with 
the palms of their hands. 

I have told you that John, the beloved apos- 
tle, was with Jesus all this while. How must 
his tender heart have been pained at the in- 
dignities which were offered to his Master! 
Peter, too, knew what was going on, though 
he strove to remain in concealment. Where 
the other apostles were, at this time, is not 
known. One might naturally conclude, had 
it not been for the experiment in the garden 
of Gethsemane, that they did not sleep much 
during the night. 

Peter, as I have said, strove to be con- 






242 TRAVELS OF 

cealed, but concealment was difficult, not to 
say impossible. While the trial of his Mas- 
ter was going on, and he was sitting among 
the servants at the fire in the hall, a female 
servant who kept the door, discovered him to 
be a Galilean, and as not only Jesus himself 
but many of his followers were known to be 
natives of Galilee, she suspected him at once 
to be one of that particular company, and 
made known her suspicions. But Peter de- 
nied it, and said he was not even acquainted 
with Jesus. At this moment the cock crew; 
but Peter, excited and fearful as he was, does 
not appear to have noticed it. 

The maid was by no means satisfied with 
Peter's reply, and insisted that he was cer- 
tainly one of Jesus's companions. Some of 
the servants, therefore, mentioned to Peter 
their suspicions; but he denied the truth with 
the same boldness as before. Again, the 
third time, the charge was made, and one of 
them asked Peter, if he did not actually see 
him in the garden of Gethsemane, at the time 
when Jesus was apprehended. Peter grew 
angry at this, and entirely forgetting himself, 
he recurred for a moment, to those habits 
which he had probably acquired while a fish- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 243 

erman — the habit of fishermen and of the 
country in general — and began to curse and to 
swear, and to say, the third time, that he knew 
nothing at all about Jesus. 

The last or third denial was hardly out of 
his mouth, before the cock crew the second 
time — for the night was already far advanced, 
and morning was now evidently fast approach- 
ing. Jesus who seems to have been, at the 
moment the cock crew, in view of Peter, cast 
his eye upon him. This, for Peter, was 
enough. He remembered his Master's pre- 
diction that before the cock should crow twice, 
he would thrice deny him. He remembered 
it, I say, and his heart at once relented. "He 
went out, and wept bitterly." 

But to return to our Saviour. The morn- 
ing was fast approaching. The Sanhedrim, 
having gone by themselves, consulted togeth- 
er, in what way they should proceed with Je- 
sus. I have already told you that they had 
pronounced him guilty, but as their nation 
was at this time a conquered nation, and held 
in subjection to the Roman government, they 
could not execute a criminal without a war- 
rant from the governor. 

The acting governor of Judea, at this time, 



244 TRAVELS OF 

was Pontius Pilate. To him, therefore, the 
Saviour was soon brought, and delivered up 
as a state criminal. Pilate asked them what 
he had done. They answered that if he had 
not been a malefactor — a notorious one — they 
should not surely have troubled him with him. 
Pilate, who, living in Jerusalem as he did, 
must have known more of the matter and of 
their prejudices than his language to the 
world would seem to imply, and probably 
quite willing, to say the least, to get rid of 
so troublesome a case, told them to take him 
back again, and judge him in their own way, 
and according to their own law. 

They then told him — what indeed he must 
have known full well before — that it was not 
lawful for them as Jews to put any individu- 
al to death, whatever his crime might be, with- 
out his concurrence; and as they had found 
the prisoner guilty in the Sanhedrim, all that 
they wanted now was his sentence. 

Pilate inquired again, of what crime Jesus 
had been found guilty. Reluctant, as it 
seems, to tell him it was blasphemy, they told 
him it was sedition or treason. He had been 
found perverting the nation, they said; for- 
bidding people to give tribute to Caesar; and 



OUR SAVIOUR. 245 

saying that he himself was a king. To this* 
however, they added the crime of blasphemy 
and probably many others. 

The Saviour, during the whole time, re-» 
mained silent. Pilate at length inquired of 
him if he had nothing to say, but he did not 
choose to reply. Pilate was somewhat sur- 
prised at his continued silence; and, as the 
Scriptures assure us, he marvelled. 

Perhaps I ought to tell you in one word, 
what became of the traitor Judas. When he 
found that the chief priests had condemned 
the Saviour, his heart relented. Perhaps he 
thought, at first, that Jesus would rescue him- 
self by a miracle, but he saw now it was oth- 
erwise. He returned the money to the chief 
priests, and told them his fault; and when 
they refused to take it back again, or pay any 
attention to his confessions, he left it in the 
temple and " went and hanged himself; and 
falling headlong, he burst asunder in the 
midst, and all his bowels gushed out."* 

Pilate not quite satisfied with the silence 
of the Saviour, called him again before him 5 

* I have quoted this, as if it stood thus in the Bible; because 
I conceive this is the natural connection, although part of it is 
found, not in the Evangelists, but in the Acts. 

21* 



246 TRAVELS OF 

and inquired whether the charge, that he set 
himself up as a king, was or was not just. 
After much conversation and explanation, on 
the part of the Saviour, and many curious 
questions on the part of Pilate, the latter sent 
him to Herod the king, for further examina- 
tion. 

Here, too, as before, he was closely ques^ 
tioned, and with the same results— he was si- 
lent. His silence, however, was not borne 
by Herod as well as it had been by Pilate. 
The latter had some sentiments of respect 
for him, but Herod appeared to despise him; 
and with his men of war, or as I suppose is 
meant his life guard, he mocked and derided 
him, and having M arrayed him in a gorgeous 
robe," he returned him to Pilate. 

Pilate now calls the chief priests and rulers 
of the Jews together — -those individuals who 
had been most forward in accusing the Sa* 
viour — and told them, that notwithstanding all 
their charges against him, neither he nor 
Herod had been able to find any fault in him. 
He proposed, therefore, merely to chastise 
him, and then set him free. 

It appears that it was customary with Pilate, 
the Roman governor, to release to the Jews, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 247 

at their feast of Passover, every year, one 
criminal. How such a strange custom came 
to prevail is hard to conceive; but so it was. 
The people usually agreed on some individual, 
and the individual on whom they were agreed, 
whatever might have been his crime, was lib- 
erated. 

At the time our Saviour was arraigned be*- 
fore Pilate, there was in the custody of the 
latter a noted prisoner whose name was 
Barabbas. This man, in company with some 
other ruffians who now lay bound in the same 
prison with him, had been guilty both of 
making an insurrection in the city and of 
•committing murder. 

When, therefore, the people became clam- 
orous, as usual on these occasions, to have 
one of the prisoners given up to them, Pilate 
inquired if it should not be Jesus. At first 
he had hoped that this would be the result, 
well knowing, as he did, that it was the envy 
and ill-will of the chief priests and other 
ringleaders of the people, that brought him 
there. 

But these wicked men had now at length 
so effectually won over the mass of the people 
to their views and induced them to conform 



248 TRAVELS OF 

to their desires, that it had become the 
general wish to destroy the Saviour and pre- 
serve Barabbas. Pilate reminded them that 
the matter lay in their own hands; that they 
could save the life of just which individual 
of the two they desired. But having fixed 
their minds, according to the prompting of the 
chief priests and rulers, there was no turning 
them. The universal cry was; We will not 
have Jesus, but Barabbas. 

Pilate inquired, what then should be done 
with Jesus. The answer was, Let him be 
crucified. Now to crucify was to fasten the 
criminal on a large cross, erected for the 
purpose, by means of cords, Slc, &c, and to 
suffer him to remain there in an unnatural and 
painful posture till he died.* It was a Roman 
method of punishment and not a Jewish one; 
though it was sometimes practised both by the 
Jews and other nations. 

Pilate, still reluctant to consent to the 
crucifixion of the Saviour, inquired again 
whether it would not be well for him to liber- 



* I have represented the criminal as having been usually fast- 
ened to the cross by means of cords. Of this, however, I am not 
quite certain* We know a different method was pursued in the 
case of our Saviour,, as we shall see in its appropriate place. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 249 

ate Jesus, and crucify Barabbas. But there 
is no moving a mob — because it is a body of 
men which, as <i body merely, acts without 
reason, — and notwithstanding all his entreat- 
ies, the cry was still against Jesus, " Crucify 
him, crucify him!" 

Pilate now took the Saviour and scourged 
him. Is it here asked why he should torture 
him before his crucifixion, especially if he 
was rather inclined to be merciful to him? 
Perhaps he thought that a moderate scourging 
would in some measure satisfy the general 
cry for vengeance, and abate the public rage; 
and that the mob might in this way yet be 
induced to spare him. This, however, is not 
very probable. There is another reason 
which is more so. It was the Roman custom 
to scourge prisoners just before they were to 
be put to death; and Pilate probably gave 
orders to scourge Jesus, as a mere matter of 
course, or custom. 

The soldiers of the governor, considering 
themselves as now fully licensed to treat 
Jesus with every indignity they pleased, took 
him into the Praetorium, or common hall, and 
having collected the whole band to which they 
belonged, they began, forthwith to insult and 



25a 



TRAVELS OF 



torment him, in various ways. They firsfc 
stripped him of the gorgeous robe which 
Herod had put on; and in place of it put or 
a robe of purple, with a scarlet one over it^ 
that he might appear somewhat in the dress 
of a prince; and as if to ridicule him for pre- 
tending to be the king of the Jews. They 
next prepared a crown of thorns, and put that 
on his head; and for a sceptre they put in his 
right hand a reed or cane. 

Having thus arrayed him, they began to* 
salute him as if he were a king, kneeling and 
pretending to reverence him as they would a 
young prince or king whom they had just 
crowned. Not satisfied with this, they pro- 
ceeded to other measures; one and another 
crying out — Hail, king of the Jews! At the 
same time advancing towards him as if to offer 
him some present or to kiss his hands or feet, 
they struck him in the face. 

What a scene was this! The Lord of 
heaven and earth — the King of kings — the 
Being by whom all worlds and all their inhab- 
itants were made — the Being who with a 
word could have crushed legions of soldiers 
beneath his feet, in an instant — submitting 
without a word or look of resistance to such 



OUR SAVIOUR. 251 

indignities as these! Who can bear to think 
of it without shuddering! without wondering, 
too, and admiring! 

And yet ail this meant something! The 
Saviour did not tread this thorny path and 
drink this bitter cup of the wrath of God, at 
the hands of guilty men, for nothing. Far 
enough from that. There is a deep meaning 
to all these sufferings, which the meek and 
blessed Jesus endured; and that meaning is 
for you, reader, and for me — for every one 
that has an immortal spirit. 

But the Saviour's cup of suffering was not 
yet full. There were trials of the severest 
kind still in reserve. The soldiers seemed to 
vie with each other, who should be the most 
abusive. Some of them went so far, even, as 
to spit on him; while others, snatching the 
reed out of his hand, smote him with it on the 
head. This last indignity was the more 
painful to be endured, as every blow would 
probably thrust the sharp thorns, deeper into 
his temples. 

A curious circumstance now occurred. 
The wife of the governor just at this time, 
sent a message to her husband about a dream 
she had just had. We are not, indeed, 



252 TRAVELS OF 

informed what the dream was; but only the 
conclusion to which her own mind was led, as 
the consequence. This was that it was 
unsafe for her husband to have any thing to 
do in the condemnation of so just a man as 
Jesus was. 

Whether the dream and message had any 
effect on the mind of Pilate, is not known. 
To me, however, it seems quite probable that 
it had. The people of those times appear to 
have paid more attention to their dreams than 
they ought to have done, and more perhaps, 
than we do, in modern times. 

Our reason for believing that Pilate's fears 
and superstitions were roused by his wife's 
message, is the fact that he declared again to 
the Jews, immediately afterward, that he must 
§till consider Jesus as an innocent man; at 
the same time bringing him out escorted by 
a band of soldiers and bidding them to behold 
him. 

Such a sight, instead of moving them to pity 
or causing their hearts to relent in the least 
degree, only served to render them so much 
the more infuriated; and they cried out with 
more violence than ever, Crucify him! Cru- 
cify him! To this Pilate only repeated his 



OUR SAVIOUR. 253 

former statement, that for his part he deemed 
him an innocent man; and that if they were 
determined on his destruction, they might 
indeed have him crucified; though if he should 
yield his assent, they must still take upon 
themselves the responsibility, and bear the 
blame. 

The Jews spoke of his blasphemy, as they 
called it. He had publicly declared himself 
to be the Son of God, they said; and this 
with them was a capital crime. Such conduct 
they thought was quite enough to condemn 
him to the cross, had he been guilty of noth- 
ing else. 

This last information — that Jesus claimed 
to be the Son of God — frightened Pilate ex- 
cessively, and, taken in connection with the 
dream which has been mentioned, inclined 
him more than ever to try to release Jesus, 
although he well knew that to reverse his sen- 
tence would at least be a very unpopular 
measure for himself. 

In this state of mental confusion and re- 
proach of conscience, he went to Jesus, and 
taking him aside asked him with more ear- 
nestness than he had even done before, of his 
origin. Jesus, however, knowing that his 
22 



254 



TRAVE L S OF 



innocency was already sufficiently manifest, 
refused to make him any reply. 

Pilate was dissatisfied with his silence, and 
reminded the Saviour of the fact, that he 
held in his hands the power of life and death 
to persons in his circumstances, and that if 
he pleased he could yet release him. This 
called forth an answer; "Thou couldst have 
no power at all against me, except it were 
given thee from above." 

From this time forth, Pilate was more dis- 
posed than ever to release Jesus. But the 
Jews, too, were more resolutely than ever 
bent on his destruction; and when they 
found how anxious Pilate was to recall his 
sentence and set him free, they actually began 
to predict evil to Pilate himself, not indeed 
the loss of liberty or life, but loss of influence, 
if not indeed of his office. For as the em- 
peror Tiberius Caesar had numerous spies in 
his provinces, who would be likely to report 
every thing done by the governor which 
looked at all like interference with his laws 
or his authority, Pilate knew how cautious he 
must be; and it was only necessary for the 
Jews to remind him, that if he let Jesus go he 
was unfriendly to Caesar, to stir up in him not 



OUR SAVIOUR. 255 

only a due regard to his own safety, but that 
undue regard to popularity, which, to most 
men in office, leads to the commission of much 
error. # 

Pilate at length brought Jesus out and sat 
down on his judgment-seat in a place called 
the Pavement. On taking his seat he said to 
the Jews, " Behold your king!" 

It was now about nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing. The Jews were as clamorous as ever 
to have Jesus delivered up to them to be cru- 
cified. Pilate, still reluctant, said, Shall I 
crucify your king? We have no king but 
Caesar,! they answered. 

The popular clamor became now so great 
that Pilate resolved to resist it no longer. So 
taking some water, and washing his hands, 



* Since the above was written, I have seen an article going the 
round of the newspapers, purporting to be the trial of the Saviour 
before Pilate the Roman governor of Judea. It is most unques- 
tionably a fabrication ; but the remarks of Mr. Noah, a learned 
Jew in New York, in regard to Pilate, found in some of the papers 
in connection with it, correspond almost exactly with those above. 

f What is meant, then, some will say, when it is said that Pi- 
late sent Jesus to Herod? Was not Herod a king? Yes j he 
was the king or tetrarch of the province of Galilee, but he had 
no power in the province of Judea, of which Jerusalem was the 
capital. Herod, it would seem, however, must have been at Je- 
rusalem during the feast j for Jesus could not have been sent into 
Galilee— I mean there was not time for it. 



256 TRAVELS OF 

he deliberately observed to the murderous* 
multitude, " I am innocent of the blood of 
this just person; see ye to it." The multi- 
tude answered, as with one voice, "His 
blood be on us, and on our children." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Jesus in the hands of his murderers — Their indignities — The cross: 
— Jesus led to it — Bears a portion of it — Relieved by Simon the- 
Cyrenian— The Saviour at the cross — Intoxicating drink offer- 
ed to him — Nine o T clock in the morning — He is nailed to the 
cross— The malefactors with him — His sufferings — His Raiment 
— The title over him — Further abuses and insults — The peni- 
tent malefactor — The mother of Jesus — Slow hours — Jesus'a 
cries — He thirsts, and is offered vinegar — Twelve o'clock — The 
darkness — The earthquake, and its effects — The females who* 
remained at the cross — Disposition of the Saviour's body — Jo- 
seph's tomb offered — The body is wrapped and laid in it — The 
tomb closed — The Sanhedrim place a guard over it. 

Jesus was now delivered up to his infuriated 
murderers. They first mocked him as long 
as they pleased, then they stripped him of his 
purple robe, and having put his own raiment 
on him, they led him away, accompanied by 
two malefactors, to be crucified. 

The place they had fixed upon, for his cru- 
cifixion, was called Calvary, or Mount Cal- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 257 

vary, or sometimes Golgotha, i. e., the place of 
a skull. It was a little beyond the city walls, 
to the north-west. Though sometimes called 
a mount, or mountain, it was a mere hill. 

It was customary for those who were sen- 
tenced to be executed on a cross to carry the 
cross, with them, to the place of crucifixion; 
not indeed the whole of it, but only, the up- 
per or transverse portion. The cross, as per- 
haps most readers know, consisted chiefly of 
two pieces, an upright part or post and a cross- 
piece. Both, united, bore some resemblance 
to the letter T. Only the middle portion ex- 
tended a little higher than the cross-piece. 

The Saviour, as it seems, found it difficult 
to carry so heavy a piece of timber; faint as 
he was from the blows and fatigue to which 
he had been subjected all night and all the 
morning; and after proceeding a little way, a 
substitute was provided. This was one Si- 
mon, of Cyrene, in Africa. He was, of 
course, a dark colored man ; and was, per- 
haps, selected on account of his being very 
strong, as almost all the native Africans now 
are, and probably were in ancient times. 

Among the multitude of spectators that fol- 
lowed our Saviour to witness his crucifixion, 
22* 



258 TRAVELS OF 

were quite a number of women.* These 
females, several of whom had been his follow- 
ers, were deeply affected by his sad fate, and 
gave vent to their feelings in wailings and 
lamentations. But he who never beheld sor- 
row with a heart unmoved, fatigued and 
exhausted as he was, and ready to sink, so far 
as his human nature merely was concerned, 
addressed himself to them as he passed 
along, and thus endeavored to comfort them; 
"Daughters of Jerusalem/' he said, "weep 
not for me; but weep for yourselves, and for 
your children." 

He then proceeded to foretell the miseries 
which were ultimately — -nor that very remotely 
either — to fall on the Jewish nation. These 
miseries were to be so great as to render life, to 
many of them, a burden. Such was to be 
the distress from famine, pestilence, and the 
sword combined, that those individuals would 
be almost envied who had no children or 

. * It is worthy of observation in this place y that our Saviour in 
his remarks to these females, does not once hint at that idle — I 
may say wicked — curiosity which often draws people of both 
sexes together at public executions. May we not reasonably hope 
that among the crowd of females present, of whom mention is 
here made, there were no such characters ? May we not hope 
that infuriated as the mob was, the female heart universally 
was moved to sympathy ? 



OUR SAVIOUR. 259 

friends about whom it was needful for them 
to be concerned or anxious. 

It is hardly necessary to repeat to those 
who have read history— especially the Jewish 
history by Josephus — that all the evils which 
our Saviour foretold were completely fulfilled, 
about thirty or forty years after his crucifixion; 
Jerusalem being so entirely destroyed, that 
not one stone of its temple or walls, was left 
upon another. 

But our Saviour, with his cross-bearer and 
his murderers have now reached Calvary — » 
the place of execution. There is the fatal 
spot. The hole is dug for the main post or 
support of the cross. Here is Simon, the 
Cyrenian, panting to be set free from his 
cumbrous load. Here is the Saviour ready 
to be fastened to the accursed wood. Pale 
though he is, yet is he firm. Not a nerve, so 
far as we know, is agitated; not a muscle 
quivers. The crowd, around, are in busy 
motion; but are kept in order by the Roman 
soldiers who attend. 

Where are the apostles? Where is Peter, 
especially ? No trace of them can be found, 
save the affectionate John. He, as ever, 
remains near* Here, too, among other fe- 



260 TRAVELS OF 

male friends, is his aged mother. Is not her 
cup of affliction now full? Is not her heart 
ready, literally, to burst with anguish? Or 
is her mind so enlightened in regard to the 
character of her son, and her faith so strong, 
that even under the infirmities of age the worst 
condition of a dear child cannot move her? 
Or, once more still, does she indulge the 
secret hope, after all, that with a power not 
unlike that which he once exercised at Naza- 
reth's hill top, he will pass away from the 
crowd, and by timely flight to some other 
province or country, carry on a little longer 
the business of his mission? 

But his mission is now at a close, or nearly 
so. His time of departure is near at hand. 
He has already been led as a sheep to the 
slaughter, and he is now about to be sacri- 
ficed. Nothing can save him. The tears 
and entreaties of friends, are of course, 
without effect. The malice and fury of 
enemies must be gratified: but more than 
this, the will of his Father — the purpose of 
his mission — must be accomplished. 

It was customary, in those days, — so we 
are informed, — to give dying criminals a dose 
of strong wine, mingled with spices of some 



OUR SAVIOUR. 261 

sort, to make them less sensible to their suf- 
fering. Indeed, a practice not unlike this is 
sometimes adopted in our own days. In the 
present instance, however, instead of afford- 
ing him that mitigation of his sufferings which 
a little cordial was supposed to produce, the 
unfeeling wretches only seemed desirous to 
add to his woes by giving him a mixture of 
vinegar and gall, — not only extremely bitter, 
but in the highest degree nauseous. He 
refused, however, to do more than just to 
taste of it. 

It seems that he was determined not only 
to avoid drinking any bitter or nauseous drugs, 
but the use of any thing at all. His friends 
who were present offering him wine, with 
spices, he refused even to taste it. He was 
resolved, as I doubt not, to have his head 
clear and his body and mind both in a natural 
state to the last. Is it not strange that any 
dying Christian or penitent criminal can feel 
otherwise ? Is it not strange that any such 
person should diminish his sensibility in the 
last moments of life by that which will intox- 
icate or benumb ? When the last rays of this 
world's light are shining upon us, is it not 
strange that we should darken every window, 



262 TRAVELS OF 

and close up every avenue to the soul, as if 
to hasten ourselves into utter darkness ? 

It was now fully nine o'clock, which, with 
the Jews, was the third hour of the day. Not 
a moment was to be lost. The Saviour was 
fastened to the bloody cross, and lifted up 
into the usual position; his arms fastened to 
the cross-piece, and his feet and body attached 
to the main post or pillar. There hangs the 
Son of God, bleeding, suffering, and, in the 
end, dying, not only for his very murderers, 
but for the world! 

It has been said, in another place, that the 
more usual method of attaching the feet and 
hands to the cross was by means of cords. It 
was only to those who were regarded as the 
worst of malefactors that further indignities 
were offered. 

It was the lot of our Saviour to be thus re- 
garded—that is, to be regarded and treated 
as the vilest of malefactors; and it was prob- 
ably this which led to a departure from the 
usual mode of attaching the limbs to the cross. 
Instead of being fastened by cords, his hands 
and feet were nailed! A cruel process, in- 
deed; but yet he must endure it! Who does 
not know that the hands and feet abound with 



OUR SAVIOUR. 263 

very sensible parts — nerves, blood-vessels, 
tendons, &c. — and that to suffer them to be 
pierced with huge nails or spikes, is to under- 
go a most exceedingly painful operation? 

On each side of our Saviour were other 
crosses, erected at the same time; and each 
had its victim, who were robbers, or, as 
the sacred narrative expresses it, thieves. 
Was it not enough that the Saviour must die 
in a manner so ignominious, but must he die 
in such company? 

There is no evidence, however, — nor is 
there any reason for suspicion on the subject 
— that the Saviour made the least resistance 
in word or deed, to what was going on. 
Though the nails pierced a thousand nerves, 
and other tender parts of those exquisitely 
sensible members, the hands and feet; though 
the limbs were stretched out, and his body 
suspended in a way which could not but be 
exceedingly distressing at the beginning, and 
in the end almost intolerable, not a word of 
reproach escaped him. Ay more, much more 
than all this can be said. He not only did 
not complain of any individual, he interceded 
for every one, and above all, for his murder- 



264 TRAVELS OF 

ers. cc Father, forgive them," he said; "for 
they know not what they do," 

1 am sometimes led to think that we attach 
too much importance, comparatively, to the 
mere bodily sufferings of our Saviour, in his 
last hours, and too little to the sufferings of 
his mind. I have a thousand times endured 
that inward anguish which it was as much 
more painful for me to endure, than to endure 
the pain of torn and bleeding hands, as can 
well be conceived. In like manner, great as 
was the physical anguish of the suffering 
Son of God, I am in no wise sure, it is worth 
speaking of in comparison with the mental 
anguish to which he was subjected. And yet 
he bore the whole, — no groans, no sighing, 
no tears. Hour after hour of quiet endurance 
passed away without even — so far as we know 
— the large, bloodlike drops of perspiration 
which had been seen at Gethsemane. 

My readers must pardon me, if I stop here 
to meditate a little on the sufferings of Christ. 
If he was susceptible of suffering at all — if 
he was, in this respect, human — and I know 
not who will for a moment doubt it — his men- 
tal sufferings in behalf of mankind must have 



OUR SAVIOUR. 265 

been infinitely beyond any thing of which we 
can at present conceive. 

The Scriptures repeatedly assure us, that 
he knew what was in man; must he not, 
therefore, have known all his disease, igno- 
rance and impiety? Must he not have seen, 
at a single glance, all the consequences of all 
the transgression, physical and moral, which 
ever have fallen, or ever will fall upon the hu- 
man race? Yet what a sight must it have 
been! What merely human being, with a 
clear view of a thousandth part of the mise- 
ries to which our race subject themselves by 
their disobedience of God's laws, natural and 
revealed, would not sink into the very earth, 
under the incumbent weight? 

A friend of mine — a person of no more 
than ordinary sensibilities, perhaps — was 
lately mourning over the sufferings of a young 
woman reduced to the borders of the grave 
by errors in regard to dress, exercise, &c; 
and the thought of her distress, with a con- 
sciousness of his inability to relieve it, made 
him for a time quite miserable. The follow- 
ing thought struck me very forcibly. Now, 
said I to myself, if a single person, from 
sympathy with a fellow-being, suffers so much, 
23 



266 TRAVELS OF 

what must have been the sufferings of the 
Saviour, from sympathy with our whole race ? 
For he knew not only the sufferings of the 
youthful individual with whom my friend sym- 
pathized so strongly, and knew and lamented 
with at least equal sincerity, the physical 
transgression which led to it, but he knew 
also all her other transgressions physical and 
moral, with their consequences, in time and 
in eternity. And not only did he see, as with 
a single glance, all the suffering of that indi- 
vidual, throughout the whole period of her 
existence, here and hereafter, but he also saw 
the sin and suffering of every individual that 
ever has lived or ever will live. He not only 
saw all this immense amount of sin and suf- 
fering, but he sympathized deeply, too, with 
the sufferers. And if my friend, for a few 
moments, was torn with anguish by sympathy 
with the suffering of one person, what cre- 
ated mind on earth — I was going to say, in 
heaven itself — can conceive of the amount of 
his suffering who saw and sympathized with, 
and in a sense bore the sorrows of thousands 
of millions! 

I wish my readers would run through this 
train of thought with much attention. Minds, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 267 

I know, are not constituted — or rather, are 
not habituated — alike; nevertheless, I cannot 
help thinking that no mind, however habit- 
uated, can avoid deriving benefit from such a 
train of reflection. But let us now return to 
our subject. 

The body of Jesus, according to the cus- 
tom of those times, had been stripped of its 
clothing; and his garments fell, by the same 
Jewish custom, to the executioners, of whom 
there were four. They divided them into four 
parts, and to determine which should belong 
to each individual, they cast lots. 

The vest* of the Saviour seems to have 
been, in its structure, a little peculiar. It 
had no seam, but was woven from top to 
bottom, in one piece. For this, as they were 
unwilling to divide it, they cast lots, to deter- 
mine to whom of the four it should fall. The 
relation of these circumstances might not be 
very important, were it not to show how 
exaetly was fulfilled the prophecy of David 



* The vest of those times was properly a coat ; and was the 
principal garment, except the outside covering or cloak. It was 
sometimes a straight garment, with openings only for the head 
and arms. Such was our Saviour's vest, or vesture, or coat, 
here alluded to. 



268 TRAVELS OF 

concerning the matter, "They parted my 
garment among them, and for my vesture did 
they cast lots." 

The soldiers who performed the office of 
executioners, appear also to have constituted 
a guard for the protection of the criminals, to 
see that they were undisturbed before their 
death, either by friends or foes. Having 
disposed of the garments, they therefore re- 
mained on the spot. 

The reader must be aware, from the very 
nature of the case, that criminals thus extend- 
ed on a cross do not die immediately. They 
usually live many hours, — sometimes, if they 
are very strong, perhaps a day or so. The 
wounds with the nails — where nails are used 
— are not inflicted on parts so essential to life 
as the lungs, the brain, the stomach, the 
heart, &,c. It is a long time before the in- 
flammation which is produced both by the 
nails and by the unnatural position and con- 
dition of the limbs, can so affect the whole 
system as to cause death. Wounds made 
with nails, moreover, do not bleed much, to 
cause faintness from the loss of blood, or at 
first any degree of fever. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 269 

A title or superscription having been writ- 
ten by Pilate, the governor, it was now 
placed on the cross, directly over the head of 
Jesus. It was the following: " Jesus op 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews." It was 
written in three languages, viz., Hebrew, 
Greek and Latin. 

Some of the Jews objected to the idea 
suggested in the title that he was the king of 
the Jews, and proposed to Pilate that he 
should alter it so as to have it merely affirm 
that he claimed to be the king of the Jews. 
But Pilate refused to do this, saying, " What 
I have written, I have written." 

But was the ground deserted by the spec- 
tators, now that their end was gained? Sat- 
isfied with what was done, did they return to 
their own homes? Or did they remain on the 
spot, still gazing, and insulting, and deriding? 
We are informed that the latter was the fact. 
Even those who passed by reviled him, nod- 
ding their heads, and saying, " Ah! thou that 
destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three 
days, save thyself. If thou art indeed the 
Son of God, come down from the cross." 
The chief priests, and scribes, and elders, 
and rulers, quite as much as the common 
23* 



270 TRAVELS OF 

people, made the same remarks, or those 
which were similar. " If he be the King of 
Israel," said they, " let him now come down 
from the cross, and we will believe him." 

One of the criminals, at the side of the 
Saviour, also repeated the same sentiments. 
" If thou be the Christ," said he, in a scorn- 
ful and disdainful manner, " save thyself and 
us." Punishment, as we see, therefore, does 
not always soften the heart, but sometimes 
has the contrary effect. 

The other robber was, however, affected; 
and not only refrained from expressing any 
resentment, or uttering the least complaint, 
but even cautioned his companion against 
doing so. "Dost not thou fear God," said 
he, "seeing thou art in the same condemna- 
tion?" He also acknowledged the justice of 
his sentence, and testified to the innocence of 
the Saviour; and, in short, gave every exter- 
nal evidence of true and unfeigned repentance. 

He did more than even this; he manifested 
the sincerity of his repentance by asking 
pardon for his offences at the Saviour's hands. 
"Lord, remember me," said he, "when thou 
comest into thy kingdom." He obtained a 
gracious answer to his request. "To-day," 



OUR SAVIOUR. 271 

said the Saviour, "shalt thou be with me in 
Paradise." One person in the world who 
repented in the last hours of his life has been 
pardoned, if no more. Let no one despair, 
therefore; but let it be also remembered that 
the case before us is the only one of the kind 
mentioned in the whole Bible. Let no indi- 
vidual, presuming on God's mercy and readi- 
ness to forgive, delay to a dying hour this 
great work, the work of repentance. 

While the Saviour was hanging on the 
cross and the multitude were deriding him, 
and heaping upon him many indignities, there 
were also near him some sympathizing friends. 
Among these were his mother and several 
other females, and John his beloved apostle, 
who, as I have elsewhere said, had never, 
except for a short time at Gethsemane, 
deserted him. 

And now was witnessed such a scene, as 
the world has rarely if ever known; such a 
proof, I mean, of tender affection for an aged 
parent. If doubts had ever entered the mind 
of his aged mother whether he loved her or 
not, during his long and numerous seasons of 
absence from her, these doubts must have 
been removed at once, when she heard from 



272 TRAVELS OF 

his dying lips the direction, "Woman, behold 
thy son!" meaning John; and also the equally 
important direction to the latter, "Behold 
thy mother!" No wonder the latter took her 
to his own home, and sustained her during life. 
Lovely, and living as he was — the dearest 
object of his heavenly Master's affection — 
how could he have refused the dying request? 
How could the mother, moreover, refuse to 
adopt him as her son? 

The time was passing, but to those in tor- 
ture, it must have gone slowly. To persons 
in such circumstances, an hour seems like a 
month, almost; and a day like a year. And 
of all torture, except that perhaps by a slow 
fire, the tortures of crucifixion, in the manner 
I have described, are the most excruciating. 

Three hours had worn away and the sun 
had come to the meridian. But was its bright- 
ness undimmed when its Creator, clothed in 
humanity, hung on a cross? It had been so, 
for aught we know, till noon— the sixth hour 
of the Jews — but now a change took place. 
A darkness came on, which continued three 
hours, viz., from twelve to three o'clock in the 
afternoon. 

What happened during this long darkness, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 273 

Scripture does not inform us. Did Jesus 
endure his agonies in silencer Or was he 
giving counsel and instruction to those around 
him, a part of the time, and especially to the 
penitent malefactor? In any event, we may 
suppose his thoughts were in active employ. 
It could not have been otherwise. 

When the darkness had continued about 
three hours, Jesus cried with a loud voice, 
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabaehthani," that is to say, 
being interpreted, "My God! My God! why 
hast thou forsaken me?" 

At the words Eloi, Eloi, some of the Jews 
pretended to believe he was calling for Elias, 
i. e. } Elijah, to come and relieve him; upon 
which they took occasion to renew their 
abuses and insults. 

At lengthhis system, enfeebled and enflamed, 
his blood as it were dried up, and his spirit 
almost ready to bid farewell to its suffering 
tenement, the Saviour complained, for once, 
of thirst. 

It was customary at the crucifixions in those 
days, to place near the cross a vessel con- 
taining a species of vinegar. When the 
Saviour complained of thirst, some of those 
who stood by filled a sponge with vinegar, and 



274 TRAVELS OF 

after fastening it to a stalk of hyssop, applied 
it to his mouth to relieve his thirst, now 
become extreme. Others, however, were 
unwilling to afford him even this poor palliation 
of his sufferings; but advised to let him 
entirely alone, and to wait and see whether 
Elijah would come to his relief. 

But the last scene, the scene of scenes, 
was now approaching. The Saviour had 
received the vinegar, and all the prophecies 
respecting the manner of his death were now 
fulfilled. With a loud voice, therefore, he 
pronounced the words, "It is finished." 

But he had much strength of body, and of 
lungs, especially, yet remaining. His life, 
though he was greatly tortured, and humanly 
speaking, greatly exhausted, was not to be 
taken from him; but he was about to yield it, 
or lay it down. And now in a loud but dis- 
tinct voice, he cried, " Father, into thy hands 
I commend my spirit." When this was said, 
he bowed his head, and expired. 

Were we to witness such a scene and the 
convulsions of nature which followed, I know 
not but we should think the dissolution of all 
things was about to take place. Let us re- 
view the particulars of this great transaction. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 275 

The sun was darkened; not by an eclipse, 
for it was full moon, and an eclipse of the sun 
cannot happen in such circumstances. It 
was by a miracle. It was by the mighty 
power of God. 

There was an earthquake. Palestine, on 
the sea-coast, is sometimes rather subject to 
earthquakes; but here was an earthquake at 
this very instant, just as the Saviour was dis- 
missing his spirit! No doubt, this, too, was 
a miracle, and a most stupendous one. 

The rocks were rent in sunder. This 
was one effect of the earthquake. Rocks 
are often cleft in this manner. How far 
this particular earthquake extended beyond 
Jerusalem, is not known. 

The vail of the temple, which separated 
between the holy and the most holy place, was 
also torn from top to bottom, so as to expose to 
view what was usually regarded by the Jews 
as sacred. This, too, must have been mirac- 
ulous. It proves, also, if it were caused by 
the earthquake, how great that earthquake 
must have been. An earthquake which shall 
produce such an effect, must have been almost 
or quite sufficient to throw down the temple 
itself. 



276 TRAVELS OF 

The tombs were opened, and many bodies 
of saints, long before deceased, were raised 
to life. Here again was a miracle, indepen- 
dent of the earthquake — a miracle of a most 
astonishing character too. After the resur- 
rection of the Saviour, many of these holy 
persons or saints came out of the tombs and 
were seen about the streets of Jerusalem. 

This spectacle affected the whole multitude; 
and now not only those who had sympathized 
all along with the Saviour, but probably too, 
some of those who had at first derided him, 
smote their breasts in amazement and sorrow. 
The guard also who attended, said, " Truly 
this was the Son of God." The Roman cen- 
turion who commanded the guards was more- 
over heard to make a similar confession; 
"Certainly, 55 said he, "this was a righteous 
man. 55 

I have also told you that there were some 
sympathizing friends near the cross. A little 
farther off, were many. Not only were the 
very women there who traveled with Jesus 
and his apostles in Galilee, "ministering to 
them of their substance,' 5 as was mentioned 
in its place, but also, as Luke tells us, all his 
acquaintance. Extended as his acquaintance 



OUR SAVIOUR. 277 

must have been, this would include quite a 
multitude. 

Among these individuals are particularly 
noticed, Mary Magdalene, and Salome, and 
Mary the wife of Zebedee, and mother of 
James and John, sometimes called James the 
less. How much bolder these women were, 
than the apostles! Not one of them were 
present that we know of, but John, and perhaps 
the penitent Peter. 

The body of Jesus still hung on the cross. 
But as the Sabbath — -the Jewish Sabbath, 
which was the same as our Saturday — was now 
approaching, and the Jewish law did not per- 
mit malefactors to remain on a cross on the 
Sabbath, the executioners were required by 
Pilate, at the request of the Jews, to hasten 
the death of their criminals by breaking their 
legs. 

They accordingly proceeded to perform 
what was required. They came first and 
broke the legs of the two robbers, after which 
they approached the Saviour to break his also; 
but finding him already dead they deemed it 
unnecessary. One of them, however, in a 
wanton, inhuman manner, pierced his side with 
a spear; upon which there came out of the 
wound a quantity of blood and water, 
24 



278 TRAVELS OF 

It was now nearly night. I have already 
said, bodies were not allowed to remain on the 
cross during the Sabbath, which began with 
the Jews on Friday evening. Of course the 
body of the Saviour must be in some way 
disposed of. What should be done with it, 
was no doubt an important question at this 
time with the friends of Jesus. 

At this juncture, one Joseph, a wealthy 
gentleman of Arimathea, or Ramoth — a friend 
of the Saviour — came forward, and interceded 
with Pilate for the body. This request was 
granted, and the body was taken down from 
the cross, wrapped in cloths and spices, and 
laid in a new sepulchre, which Joseph hap- 
pened to own in that vicinity. This sepulchre 
was in a garden, and was hewn in a solid rock. 

I have said that the body was wrapped in 
cloths and accompanied by spices. This, 
however, was only a temporary embalming. 
It was merely to preserve the body in a prop- 
er condition till the Sabbath was over, after 
which it was intended to embalm it in the usu- 
al Jewish mode. For this temporary embalm- 
ing, however costly, provision had been made, 
from another Jew, who was also, in all prob- 
ability wealthy, I allude to Nicodemus. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 279 

More bold than he once was, when he first 
came to see Jesus by night, he did not scru- 
ple now to be seen at his tomb in the day time; 
and to bring to his interment a mixture of 
about a hundred weight of myrrh and aloes. 
These were used at his request, in wrapping 
the body preparatory to its interment. 

When all this was done, the tomb was 
closed, by the application of a very large 
stone to its mouth. The female friends of 
the deceased Jesus, who had been present at 
the cross all day, and had seen that the body 
was properly deposited in the tomb, now 
returned to their own homes, or to those of 
their friends in Jerusalem; and, after making 
what preparation they had time to make, 
before the Sabbath came on, for effectually 
embalming the body when the Sabbath was 
over, they ceased from their labors, and 
rested, as their law required. 

The next day, however, though it was the 
Sabbath, it occurred to the members of the 
Sanhedrim to do one thing which, as it would 
seem, they had till now forgotten. They 
recollected how Jesus had said that after 
three days he would rise again. They there- 
fore thought among themselves that perhaps 



280 TRAVELS OF 

the apostles, or some of the rest of his disci- 
ples, might steal the body out of the grave, 
and then say the Saviour had risen. So, 
after consulting with Pilate, and obtaining 
his permission, they sealed the stone, as they 
termed it, which was placed at the mouth of 
the tomb; and, not satisfied with this, set a 
considerable guard around it, to see that no 
person approached it. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The morning of the first day of the week— The women visit the 
sepulchre — The earthquake and its consequences — Peter and 
John informed of what had happened — They run to the grave — 
The women there again — The two angels — Mary meets the 
Saviour — The other women also meet with him — Skepticism 
of the apostles — Story of stealing the body — The Saviour 
appears to Peter— To Cleopas and his companions— To the 
eleven at Jerusalem — To the eleven the second time — The 
incredulity of Thomas— Meeting with some of them, in fishing, 
on the sea of Galilee — Meeting at the mountain — Jesus again 
at Jerusalem — His instructions. 

The Sabbath was now over, and the female 
friends of Jesus, having arisen at the earliest 
dawn, or much sooner, were preparing to 
embalm his body, as they had before contem- 
plated. Meanwhile, some of them thought 



OUR SAVIOUR. 281 

they would go to the tomb or sepulchre, and 
see if all was right; but who would remove 
the stone for them, they thought within them- 
selves. And, surely enough, this was a very 
natural question. 

But the stone was already removed, not- 
withstanding the guards. Just before the 
arrival of the women, an earthquake had 
occurred, which not only, in all human prob-* 
ability, awakened the guards, if any of them 
were really sleeping, but excessively fright- 
ened them. It was, moreover, followed by 
very strange appearances. An angel of the 
Lord descended from the heavens, and, in the 
full face and defiance of the guards, rolled 
away the stone, and sat upon it. This shocked 
the guards still more, and, from the circum- 
stances which followed, it is reasonable to 
believe they fled, for we hear no more of 
their being near the spot. 

The female visitants to the tomb, therefore, 
found the stone removed, though the angel 
had disappeared. Surprised at the unexpect- 
ed sight, and probably fearing the body of 
the Saviour was stolen or otherwise removed, 
they went and told Peter and John of it, who, 
running to the sepulchre and looking in, saw 
24* 



282 TRAVELS OF 

indeed that the body was missing. The 
clothes, however, on looking closely, did not 
present that appearance of disorder which 
indicated robbery; and, on examining still 
more closely, they found every thing folded 
and put in order, as much so, almost, as if 
the place had been a bed-chamber, and the 
person who had slept there had but just left 
it. It was now, for the first time, that John 
saw fully the whole character of the Saviour, 
and can be fairly said to have believed on 
him, and that he was indeed alive. But 
where was he ? Believing, yet wondering, he 
returned, with Peter, into the city. 

But Mary Magdalene, who had been one of 
the first at the tomb, and had hastened to 
inform John and Peter, having now arrived 
again at the spot, looked, weeping, into the 
tomb, and, to her surprise, saw something 
more than the clothes. Two angels were 
there, dressed in white, sitting in the place 
where the dead body had so recently been, 
who inquired of her why she wept. "Be- 
cause," said she, " they have taken away my 
Lord, and I know not where they have laid 
him." 

In the meantime, however, the Saviour was 



OUR SAVIOUR. 283 

not far off, just behind her. Hearing a noise, 
perhaps, she turned her head to look, and 
saw a person standing there; but, for some 
reason or other, she did not at first suspect it 
was the Saviour. He, too, addressed her, 
asking why she wept, but still she did not 
recognize him, but supposed him to be the 
gardener; for I have already told you that 
the tomb was in a garden. Addressing her- 
self to him, in her haste and anxiety, she 
told him that if he had removed the body of 
her Saviour from the tomb, and would tell 
her where it now was, she would proceed at 
once to take care of it, in the usual manner, 
preparatory to its final burial. 

But how great must have been her surprise 
when the Saviour, with a peculiar inflection 
of the voice, — one which she could not mis- 
take, — and, in his usual familiar manner, 
called her by her name, and said to her, 
<c Mary." How quickly did she turn herself 
fully round, and look at him in the face, and, 
with a joy unknown to her before, — I had 
almost said unknown before to any mortal in 
any circumstances, — once more call him, in 
her former familiar manner, "Master." 

It seems, from the narrative, that, in a 



284 



TRAVELS OF 



transport of joy, she was ready to embrace 
him, but a most remarkable but yet tender 
reply prevented it. " Touch me not," said 
he, " for I am not yet ascended to my Father; 
but go to my brethren and say unto them, I 
ascend unto my Father and your Father, and 
to my God and your God." 

Once I wondered what the Saviour here 
meant, when he told Mary this. I could not 
think how it was that he should assign it as a 
reason why she must not approach him that 
he had not yet ascended to his Father. Here, 
before he had ascended, seemed to me to be 
the time and place for him to receive his dis- 
ciples, and manifest friendship by the usual 
tokens of regard. But I misunderstood the 
passage entirely. He meant, most evidently, 
as much as this: "We have no time, now, 
Mary, for these salutations, and other tokens 
of affection; there will be time enough for 
this before I ascend to my Father. At pres- 
ent, you cannot do me a greater kindness 
than to go and announce my resurrection to 
my disciples." Does not this give a new 
and clear view to the whole passage? But, 
to return to the narrative. 

Other persons as well as Mary had infor- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 285 

mation from heavenly messengers, in respect 
to the Saviour; and some of them were re- 
minded, by these messages, of the Saviour's 
promise to meet them again in Galilee, when 
he was with them there, and was foretelling 
to them his death and resurrection. 

Nor was this all. In the hurry and agita- 
tion of the morning, while the females were 
so anxiously running to and fro, and giving 
information of what they had seen and heard, 
and perhaps consulting with Peter and John 
about it — I mean Mary the mother of Jesus, 
Salome, Joanna, &c. — the Saviour appeared 
to them also, and addressed them familiarly, 
saying, "All hail!" They also paid their 
respects to him — which, however, he did not 
repel — by holding him by the feet, and as the 
Scripture expresses it, "worshiping him." 

Perceiving the confusion of their minds 
, from the joy mingled with surprise they felt, 
he endeavored to quiet them by assuring them 
that there was no need of fear; and, also, by 
bidding them to remind his brethren of the 
promised meeting in Galilee, and of his read- 
iness to fulfil his promise by meeting them 
there. 

It seems, however, that this interview, like 



286 TRAVELS OF 

that with Mary, was very short, and that Je- 
sus soon disappeared. They brought the in- 
telligence he had requested them to carry to 
the eleven apostles; but they seemed at first 
hardly to credit it. Even Peter and John, 
who just now seemed to believe, had half re- 
lapsed into their former skepticism. 

Perhaps they were not a little perplexed by 
a story already in circulation, with whose or- 
igin they might not have been as yet acquaint- 
ed. For though they knew full well that they 
were not guilty of the charge it contained, 
they could not be quite sure that none of the 
rest of his disciples might not have been. I 
allude to a story fabricated by the Sanhedrim, * 
that the disciples of Jesus had stolen away his, 
body while the guards were asleep. This 
was in itself a most unlikely story ; how could 
they know what was done when they were 
fast asleep? Besides, it was death for a Ro- 
man soldier to be found sleeping on guard; 
but the Sanhedrim had promised to protect 



* The guard had told the Sanhedrim about the earthquake and 
the removal of the stone from the mouth of the tomb ; and the 
Sanhedrim had not only promised to screen them from harm, but 
actually bribed them, by means of money, to tell the story ever* 
against their own reputation as soldiers. 



OUR SAVIOUR. 287 

the soldiers, should they be brought to account 
for their conduct. The story, however, 
passed current for a while, and probably stag- 
gered, in the confused state of their minds, 
some of the disciples, and possibly some of 
the apostles themselves. 

The Saviour's next appearance, was to Pe- 
ter, but we are not told exactly when it was, 
or where. About the same time, however, 
he appeared to two of his disciples, in com- 
pany, on the road to Emmaus, a village about 
seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. Cleo- 
pas, or Alpheus, the father of James the less, 
and another whose name is not known, being 
in conversation together on the road thither 
about the Saviour, the latter came along and 
fell in with them and traveled with them a 
considerable distance without their knowing 
him. 

This interview was the more remarkable 
from the fact that he not only traveled with 
them and entered into conversation with them 
— and that, too, about himself and his own 
character and conduct as it had been exhibited 
to them recently — yet they did not know him. 
They knew indeed that he was " mighty" in 
the knowledge of the Scriptures, and they 



238 TRAVELS OF 

felt their hearts burn within them, as it were, 
while they heard his remarks; and yet their 
eyes being holden, as the Scripture says, they 
did not recognize him. 

Nor did they know him in fact till he came 
to sit down and eat with them; and then the 
veil which seems to have been over them was 
taken away. Having arrived at Emmaus, he 
had consented, at their request, to stop with 
them there, and tarry awhile; and when the 
supper came on, he proceeded to bless the 
bread in the usual manner, which opened 
their eyes. But no sooner did they behold 
him full before them, as the Saviour, than he 
disappeared. 

Whether the two disciples had intended at 
first to pass the night in Emmaus, is not said; 
but they were so much surprised and over- 
joyed at the circumstance which had happened, 
that they went away directly to Jerusalem and 
announced the welcome intelligence to the 
eleven apostles that they had seen Jesus, 
while they heard from them also, at the same 
time, that he had appeared to Peter. 

Where the apostles, except John, had been 
all this while, we are not informed; but they 
had been, it seems, so situated that they had 



OUR SAVIOUR. 289 

been readily drawn together by what had ta- 
ken place, and were in consultation what to 
do. 

Doubtless this interview, was a Very joyful 
one to them all. The day which had now 
come to a close, had been the most eventful 
day of their lives; and they probably enjoyed 
the evening in talking over what they had 
seen and heard. The eleven were assembled, 
as it appears, in a very retired chamber; for, 
as the story was out, that they or the rest of 
the disciples had stolen the Saviour's body> 
and as their old fears that came upon them at 
Gethsemane and subsequently, were not yet 
probably all gone, they were disposed to hold 
their interview as secretly as possible. 

Here, then, in this secret chamber, they 
were recounting the events and wonders of 
the day, with the doors closely shut, and I 
presume firmly fastened. They were taking 
some refreshment, and had probably nearly 
finished their repast, when, to their very 
great surprise and utter amazement, the Sa- 
viour, with the mighty power he had to pass 
bars and bolts, if he chose to do so, made his 
appearance in their midst, and with his usual 
familiarity said, "Peace be unto you." He 
25 



290 TRAVELS OF 

may have intended by it also to dispossess of 
fear, and calm their minds for the interview 
intended. 

I have spoken of their surprise and amaze- 
ment; but I might say more; they were ex- 
ceedingly frightened; and from the manner 
of the Saviour's coming in, they appear to 
have regarded him, at first, as a spirit. But 
he soon calmed their fears by showing them 
— besides his salutation of peace — his hands, 
and feet, and side; and bidding them to test 
the reality of his presence by touching him. 
He also satisfied them still farther, by eating 
before them; for though, as I have already 
said, they had probably nearly finished their 
supper, yet on inquiry it appears they had 
left a small piece of fish and a little honey of 
which he partook as usual; thus convincing 
them that he had a real body, as much as be- 
fore his death. 

Before he left them — he seems to have been 
absent from them the v/eek following — he 
gently complained to them of their unbelief 
and slowness to receive the abundant evidence 
which had been afforded them of his resur- 
rection; but concluded his upbraidings with 
his usual kindness and forgiveness ; and by 



OUR SAVIOUR. 291 

pronouncing, in a solemn but tender manner, 
the words, " Peace be unto you." 

He also, at the same time, confirmed his 
former commission to them as apostles. "As 
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." 
It was, moreover, at the close of this inter- 
view, that he breathed on them, as the evan- 
gelist calls it, and said, "Receive ye the 
Holy Ghost;" at the same time remitting 
their sins, and giving them power, as his 
apostles, to remit the sins of others. 

I have spoken as if the eleven apostles 
were together at this interview; and yet it 
seems that Thomas was absent. When he 
returned, late in the evening, after the Saviour 
had retired, they told him Jesus had been 
there, and related the circumstance of their 
interview with him. But Thomas was still 
more incredulous than they had been. He 
said he would not believe he had risen, till he 
could actually examine, with his own fingers, 
the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. 
Is not such slowness of belief exceedingly 
unaccountable? 

This interview of the Saviour with the ten 
apostles was on the evening of the first day of 



292 TRAVELS OF 

the week, as I have already said; or, as we 
should call it, Sabbath evening. 

In just a week afterwards, the apostles 
were again present together and Thomas with 
them. The doors being shut where they 
were and fastened as before, Jesus again 
appeared to them and with the same salutation 
as before, " Peace be unto you." And now it 
was, after having said this, that he approached 
the incredulous Thomas, and gave him the 
opportunity he had wished for. ' 'Reach hither 
thy finger, and behold my hands, 5 ' said he, 
" and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into 
my side, and be not faithless but believing." 

This was sufficient. Thomas could not 
resist the evidence of his senses. "My Lord 
and my God!" was the exclamation he made; 
after which, and a few remarks to him, gently 
reproaching him for his incredulity, the Sav- 
iour again disappeared. 

It will be remembered, perhaps, that when 
the Saviour was, one day, while in Galilee, 
foretelling his sufferings and death, he told 
his disciples that he should not only rise 
again, but that after he had risen he would 
again meet them — i( go before them," is the 



OUR SAVIOUR. 293 

Bible language — in Galilee. It appears also 
that he was to meet them there on a certain 
mountain; one, in all probability, with which 
they were familiar. It will likewise be re- 
membered that the angelic messengers, in 
announcing his resurrection, adverted also to 
the same fact. It was not very long after his 
interview with the incredulous Thomas, that 
he appears to have set out on his journey 
thither. 

His first interview with them there, was on 
the sea-shore — the sea'of Galilee — rather than 
on the mountain. Peter, Thomas, James, 
John and two other apostles, accompanied by 
Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, were fishing 
there. While busily engaged, for once more, 
in this their old employment, the Saviour made 
his appearance on the shore; though they did 
not at first know him. 

It was now morning, and about time for 
breakfast; and the Saviour, unknown to them 
either by his voice or manner, inquired if 
they had any thing to eat? They told him 
they had not; for though they had been toil- 
ing all night, they had not caught so much as 
fish enough for a single meal. 

The Saviour, knowing their ill success^ 
25* 



294 TRAVELS or 

directed them to cast their nets in a particular 
place and manner, and they would then meet 
with better success. He was soon recognized 
by Peter, and his directions being complied 
with, they caught such an abundance of fish, 
and of such an unusual size, that they could 
hardly drag them in. They, however, at 
length succeeded, and some of the fish being 
cooked at a fire which the Saviour had pre- 
pared on the shore, and a little bread being 
procured, they partook, with the Saviour, of 
a morning repast. 

I have called the meal a morning repast, 
but the evangelist John calls it a dinner. 
Perhaps it was as late as ten or eleven o'clock 
in the forenoon; and if so they would naturally 
call it a dinner. The Jews, I believe, were 
accustomed to dine at eleven o'clock. 

This was the third interview which the 
Saviour had with any considerable number of 
the apostles after his resurrection; and it was 
one of the most interesting and important 
which he ever had with them, if we except 
the ttour of his ascension. 

It was at this interview that he held a con- 
versation with Peter about feeding his sheep 
and lambs; a conversation which we may be 



OUR SAVIOUR. 295 

sure Peter never forgot. In the same con- 
versation, be foretold, rather indistinctly, the 
manner of that apostle's death; viz., by vio- 
lence. The long life of John — the fact that 
he would live to witness the destruction of 
Jerusalem — for this was what was sometimes 
meant by Christ's coming — was also foretold 
at this same precious and interesting interview. 

Soon after this, they had the meetings 
already several times alluded to, on a moun- 
tain in Galilee. There are two reasons for 
supposing that the collection of people there 
was very large. 1. Because we are informed 
that some who were there worshiped him, 
while others doubted* whereas, we cannot 
believe that any doubts now lingered in the 
minds of the eleven apostles. 2. Because it is 
said in one of Paul's epistles, that the Saviour 
was on a certain occasion seen of above five 
hundred brethren at once; and I know not 
where this could have been, except in Galilee, 

Within a little time after this meeting in 
Galilee, we find him in Jerusalem again, 
giving to his apostles and disciples, from time 
to time, various important instructions. He 
was with them, in the whole, after his resur-* 



296 TRAVELS OF 

rection, forty days, all of which time we may 
be assured was spent in the most profitable 
manner. It is true, the sacred record is silent 
in regard to the manner in which much of this 
time was spent, especially the first week; 
still, we cannot believe that the Son of God 
would misspend a single day or hour. 

One thing which seemed to be a prominent 
topic in the Saviour's instruction, after his 
resurrection, was the interpretation of the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament, and their 
application to himself. "Then opened he their 
understanding," it is said, in one instance, 
"that they might understand the Scriptures. 5 ' 
Their understandings, however, after all, 
never were fully opened till subsequently to 
the Saviour's ascension to heaven; as we 
learn from the first chapter of Acts. 

Among other things expressly enjoined by 
our Lord on his apostles, during his stay upon 
earth, was that they should do their utmost 
to extend the blessings of the gospel, not only 
to all nations of the earth, but to every indi- 
vidual. They were to preach and teach, or 
discipher and baptize; and in some circum- 
stances, as it appears, to work miracles. 
They were to tarry in Jerusalem, however, a 



OUR SAVIOUR. 297 

short time, till the coming of the Holy Spirit, 
the Comforter who was to be sent down after 
his own departure, to endue them with more 
special power from on high than they had yet 
received, and to assist, as it were, in com- 
pleting the great work of redeeming and 
sanctifying the world. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The Saviour and the apostles go to mount Olivet, near Bethany 
— Feelings of the apostles conjectured— Reflections on the 
Saviour's circumstances — He gives the apostles his parting 
blessing— He ascends — A cloud envelops him — Angelic direc- 
tions — They return to Jerusalem — Further reflections. 

The last journey the Saviour took on earth, 
was from Jerusalem to Bethany, or rather to 
the mount of Olives, which lay between Jeru- 
salem and Bethany, and extended quite into 
the borders of the latter. In this journey he 
was accompanied by his apostles. He led 
them out, it is said, as far as to Bethany. 

Did the apostles know that this was the 
last journey they were to take with their Lord 



298 TRAVELS OF 

and Master, while on earth? They knew, 
unquestionably, that he would leave them 
soon; but did they know any thing of the 
day and hour? They had traveled with him 
many thousand miles, since they became his 
disciples; was this the last, the final walk? 

I have sometimes thought whether the 
apostles might not have been at this time in 
expectation of some remarkable event; for it 
was, I believe, on their arrival at the place 
of his ascension, that some of them put to 
him the question whether he was about to 
" restore the kingdom to Israel." They 
could not even now wholly relinquish the 
idea that the Saviour was to be, somehow or 
other, and in some way or other, concerned 
in the restoration of the Jews to their ancient 
temporal privileges, as well as in blessing 
them spiritually; so strongly had their notions 
of a Messiah been tinctured with ideas of 
temporal power. Nor were they wholly 
unlike all other men in this respect. Who 
does not know how strongly affected human 
character is by the love of power? 

It does not, however, appear very evident 
that they supposed this particular journey 
towards Bethany was to be their last in com- 



OUR SAVIOUR. 299 

pany with Jesus. Had they known, what 
must have been their feelings! They had 
been with him in comparative prosperity, as 
well as in adversity; they had seen him in 
hours of joy and in hours of sorrow; they 
had been with him in trials of the most dis- 
tressing kind, and they had heard his instruc- 
tions on almost every subject, till he was 
become endeared to them in a manner which, 
in all probability, can scarcely be conceived 
by us. True, they had deserted him in his 
last and most severe trials; and this must 
have stung them to the heart. Did the Sav- 
iour lead them out at the eastern gate of Jeru- 
salem, and over the brook Kidron, and near 
the garden of Gethsemane, and up the ascent 
of mount Olivet, to the borders of Bethany, 
that with the last interview they might asso- 
ciate their ill treatment of him and their con- 
sequent ill desert, and thus be kept, in time 
to come, in proper humility? 

But they are now arrived at the spot whence 
the Saviour is to take his flight from this dark 
world to bright, celestial regions. He is now 
to complete his course as a traveler on earth. 
No splendid, triumphant royal car, however, 



300 TRAVELS OF 

awaits him; no retinue of attendants proposes 
to accompany him. He needs not, by whom 
the world was made, the aid of any of its 
chariots or horses, even those of fire! He 
needs not, who can command legions of 
cherubs and seraphs into his service, any 
convoy to the world of bliss — the heaven of 
heavens — his original, his eternal, his final 
abode. He needs nothing for his journey but 
his own power, — almighty power being his, 
in heaven and in earth. 

Hitherto, for thirty years and more, has 
he been an inhabitant of a single corner of 
one little province of the Creator's vast 
domain. He has walked among the sons of 
men, and been himself a man of sorrow and 
acquainted with grief. If his eyes have been 
raised at times to those bright worlds whence 
he came, still his more immediate intercourse 
has been with this world. Day after day, 
month after month, year after year, has seen 
him familiar with the abodes of poverty and 
ignorance, and of vice and crime; not to 
catch the disease, but to cure it. Wherever 
there has been imperfection or suffering, 
there has he been ready, with a warm heart, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 301 

and kind voice, and strong arm, to afford 
instruction or relief; usually both. 

But the scene is soon to change. He is to 
travel a brighter and more cheerful road than 
any on this fallen earth. He is to be among 
suns and stars. He is to mount up to the 
heaven of heavens, — where he once was, — 
and seat himself, as before, on the eternal 
throne, at the right hand of the eternal 
Father. 

His instructions are all given; his explan- 
ations to his disciples are all made. They 
are not, indeed, satisfied; but, having re- 
ceived full assurance that new light will be 
shed on them, a few days hence, by the power 
of the Holy Ghost, they are, on th$ whole, 
content to await the appointed time. 

And now, for the last time, he lifts up his 
hands, — those hands which, though scarred 
with the accursed nails, have been the instru- 
ments of so much good, within the last three 
years, — and, in his usual solemn manner, 
commands a blessing upon them all, and com- 
mits them to the care of his and their most 
merciful Father. 

But scarcely is the blessing pronounced, 
ere he begins to ascend! and make his way 
26 



302 TRAVELS OF 

through the thin air towards the skies. Solemn 
moment! Solemn to those who witness the 
scene, — solemn to us, even us, who, at this 
late day, in these ends of the earth, read of 
the event. He is fast disappearing — the 
clouds begin to envelop him — he can scarcely 
be seen — he is gone! 

Even at this very moment, I seem to see 
the eleven companions of this ascending Sav- 
iour, with eyes upraised, and hands clasped, 
silent and motionless as the grave, watching 
the spot where he was last visible, vainly 
hoping to get one more distant glance at the 
object of their affections. But no. They 
may look while life lasts, — ay, for centuries. 
No Saviour will make his appearance in the 
skies any more, till the last trump shall sound, 
and the universe shall be arraigned at the 
final bar of judgment. 

What must have been the sorrows — what 
the feelings in general — of the apostles of 
our Saviour, at this critical moment! Now, 
for the first time, as it were, in their whole 
lives, they were truly alone in the world. 
They had, indeed, been lonely before, as the 
world counts loneliness; but what loneliness 
like this? What could they now do? To 



OUR SAVIOUR. 303 

whom and where could they preach? Who 
would hear them? Who would receive them? 
Who would not even persecute them? And 
who would there be to sympathize with them 
in hours of trial and persecution? 

They forgot, for the moment, it is presumed, 
the promise that he would send the Comforter. 
They forgot that they were to be endued, ere- 
long, with power from on high. They forgot 
that the Saviour, though absent from them 
bodily, was to be with them spiritually, even 
to the end of their lives! 

I presume, I say, that they forgot all this 
for a moment; such is human nature. But 
the scene soon changes. They are roused 
from their contemplation by two celestial 
messengers, robed in white, who give them 
great encouragement. "Why stand ye gazing 
up into heaven?" they say. "This same 
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, 
shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen 
him go into heaven." 

This, I say, gave them courage; and, after 
worshiping the Saviour, they returned to Je- 
rusalem. Their melancholy dejection was 
now fled away, and was succeeded by cheer- 
fulness. Their sorrow was turned into joy. 



304 TRAVELS OF 

Many a parent, at the spiritual departure 
of a child, — many a husband or wife, at the 
departure of a companion, — has felt for the 
moment that the world was to him or her a 
mere blank. " I have lost my child!" or, "I 
have lost my companion!" is the feeling, and 
sometimes the exclamation. 

But the scene soon changes, especially if 
the bereaved mourner believes in the Saviour 
and the resurrection which he preached. 
That earthly friend, so dear and beloved, is 
regarded, not as lost, but only as gone before 
to a world which the survivor himself must 
soon enter. So was it with David. I shall 
go to my child, he said, but he will not return 
to me. 

So was it, in a good measure, with the 
apostles. Jesus was not lost to them, as, in 
their first sorrowing moments, may have 
seemed to be the case. He was only gone 
before them. They had even higher hope of 
him than is had of an earthly friend. The 
child whom we love, or the companion of our 
bosom, will not, by-and-by, descend from the 
heaven of heavens, with a retinue of angels, 
to escort us thither. But Jesus will. When 
the last trump shall have sounded, — when 



OUR SAVIOUR. 305 

the earth and the sea shall have given up 
their dead,— when the living millions shall 
have been changed, and all shall have heard 
the final condemnation or reward, the right- 
eous shall be caught up in the air, — so the 
Scripture expresses it, — to be for ever with 
their Judge, and Lord, and Master. He 
ascended alone to the blissful abode of his 
and our Father; we shall ascend in company. 
He made the tour of the visible heavens 
without splendor; but the tour which we shall 
make, when we ascend to dwell for ever at 
his right hand, will be in splendor, and glory, 
and pomp, and majesty inconceivable. 

The Saviour has gone, but he is not lost. 
He still lives. He is still the same good and 
glorious Being that he always was. He is 
still promoting, as he always was, the highest 
possible happiness of all mankind. He still 
lives, I say. I might say much more. He 
still dwells with men. cc Lo, I am with you 
alway," is still sounding in our ears; and the 
promise, unless we turn away from the voice 
that speaketh, is ours as much as it was that 
of the apostles. Jesus, though absent from 
us, is yet, in a certain sense, present to every 
one of his true followers. 
26* 



306 TRAVELS OF 

He is not, indeed, an inhabitant, at the 
present time, of this vale of tears. He is not 
walking about in Palestine. He is not, as he 
once was, preaching in the temple at Jerusa- 
lem. He is not going from place to place, 
preaching, in person, to the poor the ever- 
lasting gospel. He is not feeding with tem- 
poral loaves and fishes the thousands who 
follow him to hear what he says and see what 
he does. He is not raising to life the tem- 
porally dead. He is not flying from the 
persecutions of the Jews. He is not at 
Gethsemane. He is not on Calvary. 

But he still exists, as I have said. If he 
dwells with good men on earth, as we know 
there is a sense in which he does, yet he 
dwells in a more striking manner elsewhere. 
Let us not be over anxious to know the place 
or the mode of his existence. It is sufficient 
for us to know that he exists somewhere; and 
is always with his disciples wherever two 
or three only are gathered in his name; that 
he has a place for us, if we are indeed his 
disciples; that in his Father's house are many 
mansions, and that, be the mode of existence 
what it may, if we love him and continue in 
his love, we shall see him; if we are like him, 



OUR SAVIOUR. 307 

we shall be where he is, let the place be as it 
may. Where he is, as he expressly assured 
his followers, there they will be also. " Who 
worship God shall find him. 5 ' 

I have heard a few good men advance the 
idea that some of the glorious worlds which 
we call planets, into which sin, perhaps, has 
never entered, or that still more glorious 
world, the sun, or, perhaps, the other suns, 
called fixed stars, with which the visible fir- 
mament is studded, and with which the invis- 
ible is equally replete, might be the future 
abode of the redeemed of this world. It may, 
indeed, be so; though of this we know just 
about nothing at all. These speculations 
may be pleasant, even though they should not 
be profitable. Still I repeat once more — and 
it seems to me sufficient — the language of the 
poet, "Who worship God shall find him." 
Or the still more appropriate language of the 
Saviour himself, " In my Father's house are 
many mansions. I go to prepare a place for 
you; that where I am there ye may be 
also." 

The Saviour still lives. Not, however, as 
on earth, in poverty. The universe is now 



308 TRAVELS OF 

his, and he uses it; both the world of matter 
and of mind. Is not he rich who has such 
absolute and illimitable sway, — who holds all 
beings and all property in his hands, and 
makes a glorious use of all? 

He lives, and is eternally active. Not, 
indeed, in the way of walking about, confined 
to a body of flesh, and subject to infirmity. 
His is now a celestial body, that prevents not 
his flying from world to world with a speed to 
us inconceivable, in accomplishing purposes 
of infinite love and goodness. 

He is still, I say, executing the purposes 
of his immeasurable love. He may be going 
about doing good, in some form or other, in 
some world or other, but his labors are not, 
as once, confined to Palestine. His dominion 
is an everlasting dominion, and his plans are 
as unlimited as his being is infinite. 

He is not preaching now to the hundreds 
and thousands who once crowded to hear him. 
And yet his instructions, recorded in that 
blessed book of life, which his mercy and his 
providence have put into our hands, are 
spreading the everlasting gospel every day, 
among not only thousands, but millions; and 



OUR SAVIOUR. 309 

they are destined to reach hundreds of mil- 
lions; yea, to embrace the whole human 
family. 

I say the Saviour is not preaching now; 
and yet this is more than we can know. Mr. 
Dick, who has written many conjectures about 
the future state, supposes the Saviour may be 
employed, from time to time, without inter- 
ference with his great work of intercession 
for us before the throne of his Father, in 
giving instruction in the form of lectures, or 
in some manner not unlike it, to countless 
myriads of celestial learners. 

The Saviour is not now feeding with loaves 
and fishes, as once, the thousands whose 
temporal wants render his interference neces- 
sary. True, he gives us all, day by day, our 
daily bread; but not directly, nor in a mirac- 
ulous manner. But he still gives us, as he 
always did, the bread of life, if we ever re- 
ceive it. No person can come to God the 
Father, as the Saviour has expressly told us, 
even for common blessings, — much more for 
spiritual ones, — except through him. 

He still causes the deaf to hear,- — but it is 
those who are spiritually deaf. Bodily deaf- 



310 TRAVELS OF 

ness, indeed, if curable at all, comes to pass 
through the medium of laws which God our 
Saviour has established. But the spiritually 
deaf are more directly operated upon, than 
those who are only deaf bodily. 

He causes the blind to see. O, how many 
are blind to the requirements of God's law, 
as well as deaf to the voice which utters it! 
Yet there is here and there one, blessed be 
God, who can say, as did one of Palestine, in 
days of old, <c Whereas I was blind, now I 
see." 

The paralytic and the leper are still cured 
by the agency of our Saviour; but I refer 
here to those who are affected with the lepro- 
sy of sin, and whose moral powers are palsied 
by long disobedience to the laws of their 
Heavenly Father. 

The dead are raised. How many who 
were once dead in trespasses and sins, have 
been quickened, through the agency and 
assistance of God's Holy Spirit, and through 
his mercy in Jesus Christ our Intercessor and 
Saviour, to rise to spiritual life and health, 
and to hope for a resurrection at the last day 
still more glorious! 



OUR SAVIOUR. 311 

The Saviour still lives; and because he 
lives, we, if we are his true followers, shall 
live also. Let us, then, boldly follow him, 
while the journey of life lasts, through good 
report and through evil, till the hour of our 
dissolution approaches; and then let us cross 
the dark valley of the shadow of death, still 
fearing no evil, till we arrive where he is, to 
dwell for ever in his blissful presence. 



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